Why are negative aging stereotypes so commonly accepted by younger people? Ageism is known as prejudice and discrimination directed at older people. Research has shown that adults under 35 are more likely to be negatively biased towards the elderly and see them as ‘pretty much alike’ (Abramson & Silverstein, 2004). What is preventing us from properly understanding the aging process? In this post, we will look at some of the obstacles that motivate ourselves, and younger people, in general to remain ignorant of these issues that are a very natural part of life.
These are some obstacles that have been generally associated preventing better understanding of older people and the maintenance of ageism (Dullaert, 1977):
1. Negative rejecting feelings for older people and processes of getting older
This stems from being exposed to negative stereotypes of the elderly and not having any personal experiences or knowledge to counteract them and therefore are accepted. This is commonly characterized by comments or sayings that show condescension, distaste, or pity towards the elderly such as “old people smell bad”.
2. Fear of Dying
Many of us generally hold a fear of dying and by association, aging, which we perceive as a natural precursor to it. Just as we generally avoid listening to commercials talking about life insurance and funeral services, we try to unconsciously avoid experiences that remind us of our own mortality.
3. Associated guilt with others dying
We all have had someone close to us pass away or know someone that has gone through such an experience and have felt some form of despair or other negative feeling at the helplessness in preventing the death despite how illogical it is to feel that emotion.
4. Limited exposure with aged population leads to perceiving the aging population as generally all the same
This is especially more common in younger people as the majority of our experiences with the elderly are limited to our experiences with our grandparents and other older family members. As such, we have a narrowed worldview of seniors and tend to see them as all the similar to the seniors we know.
5. Incompatibilities of lifestyles and groups
As posted by Kapena, where she discusses the views towards the elderly from the perspective of another culture, in North America, we are culturally more egocentric and see ourselves more as independent individuals. We hang around those that are similar to ourselves and avoid other groups dissimilar to us, especially people in other age groups because we see them as drastically different in lifestyle, opinions, and interests. Age-segration is quite prevalent in North America.
6. Social condition distorts perception of the aging
Everyday, we are constantly conditioned to look our best and associate our ideal values of beauty and success with youthful beautiful men and women. New trends are centred around young adults and being young is considered “normal”. In comparison to this young-centric culture, we tend to have distorted views of “abnormal” and old people are seen as everything that is opposite to it.
So how strongly are young people biased towards older people? A recent research study surveyed university students on their attitudes towards older adults by asking them what five activities came to mind regarding how the elderly spend their time (Wurtele & Maryuama, 2012). As previously posted, the participants responses greatly exaggerated socializing and watching TV as the primary activities of the elderly. Another study that looked at ageism biases between age groups showed that the effect was most pronounced in the 18 and younger followed by a sharp decrease between 18 to 25 year olds and the biases steadily declined until adults 55 and older where it remained stable and matched up with biases held by the elderly (Morin, et al., 2009).
So what can be done to challenge these stereotypes? Public awareness and creating understanding that we have these misconceptions is an excellent first step against this form of discrimination (Ory, Hoffman, Hawkins, Sanner, & Mockenhaupt, 2003). Anti-ageism public awareness campaigns such as National Older Persons Day and groups such as AARP and www.seetheperson.info are continually educating the public as seen here:
Popular entertainment also works as well. Penn and Teller's Bullshit! episode about our misconceptions about old people is an entertaining way of dispelling myths and is geared towards younger adults and even though it isn't really scientific, it is certainly engaging, especially with the armpit-smelling demonstration: (NSFW warning)
On a more individual level, it is really as simple as interacting with more older people and creating network ties to them to combat age segregation and encourage others to do the same. This doesn't mean you have to visit a seniors centre (even though that is a great opportunity to interact), just talk to them and engage with them. Even talking more with older family members that you typically don't talk to is a good first step. These simple interactions will broaden your own experience and lessens the "us vs. them" mindset, allowing you to see each elderly person you meet as an individual.
What are you waiting for?
References: References for the post can be found here.
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