Various Perspectives of Society About Aging

Paper Info
Page count 4
Word count 1195
Read time 5 min
Topic Sociology
Type Essay
Language 🇺🇸 US

Introduction

Aging is a common phenomenon that happens at a certain point in every individual’s life. With old age, there are a lot of changes that happen in a person’s life that suggest they might need help from people around them. Instead of embracing this as an opportunity to show love and care for the elderly, many individuals frown upon them and start mistreating them. For instance, there are individuals who take their elderly relatives to nursing homes and abandon them there. This paper looks at how the old people in the society are treated and how they adjust to the same civilization.

How Are Aging Treated

Different societies in the world treat different individuals of various age groups differently. In some communities, the young look up to the old as role models or inspiration to where they may want to be one day in terms of success and accomplishments. This is evident especially when individuals have achieved much during their youthful days (Li et al., 2020). Apart from that, the aging individuals are seen as individuals who can advise on various issues in life. For instance, there are communities that individuals believe in consulting the aging before undertaking certain tasks or opportunities in life. Marriage is one of the issues that the elderly are consulted about before it happens.

However, in some other societies or communities, the aging is not consulted and is seen as a liability. The reason for this is that most of them have suffered various conditions that are limiting their normal functioning (Stauder et al., 2018). Some of them have been affected to the extent they cannot do the simplest tasks for themselves, which forces their relatives to invest in paying for a nurse or caregiver. In other instances, some individuals take their aging relatives to nursing homes and abandon them there, something that is not right.

Ways in which the aging population is treated

Many people in the society disregard the aging individuals and consider them as a liability. This has led to many aging individuals being abandoned in nursing homes. Relatives and friends of many of these individuals have failed to realize that the aging needs more attention than before and should not be abandoned especially at that point of their lives. Another way the society shows mistreatment towards the aging is when important matters are in discussion and an aging individual wishes to give their opinion (Li et al., 2020). Most of the time, the topics under discussion are politics and development. The aging experience harassment in the streets since the perpetrators knows that their victims are incapable of fighting back.

How the aging population should be treated

The aging individuals are very important in the society, and they have a great amount of knowledge that could support many decisions that other individuals make. This shows that they deserve better treatment and more respect from other individuals. Some of the ways individuals can ensure that they treat the aging in a better manner is through showing them more attention and care (Ciobanu et al., 2020). Most of these people are sick and suffering from various conditions, some of which that have impaired their ability to carry out various tasks. Some of those tasks include taking their medicines required for managing their conditions. Most have reached to a point where they can no longer take their medicines.

Specific things the aging are doing

Disability or diseases at old age are more common but are not guaranteed. This has helped many individuals who are aging in the society to participate in activities or do things that they did not before in an attempt to adjust to the old age (Boyd et al., 2019). For instance, most choose to focus on the things that they grateful for in their lives instead of being sad about aging. The longer an individual lives, the more they lose, for example loved ones. This makes the aging realize that life is precious and that they should not take it for granted and ought to enjoy whatever they have.

Apart from their appreciation of their lives and what they have, the aging individuals are expressing their emotions to others who are close to them. Cases of mental illness continue to rise and the main reason for this, experts say is because people are afraid to speak about issues that affect their personal lives (Stauder et al., 2018). For instance, it important that an elderly individual communicates about fears and anxiety they experience concerning their age. This allows people around them to act quickly and help them before they get suicidal thoughts which are linked with mental conditions such as depression. Apart from speaking to their loved ones about their issues, the elderly in the society are joining focus groups where they meet other individuals in their age group who are experiencing similar issues.

How the aging are adjusting

Majority of the elderly have accepted the reality that they are becoming older and that the only thing that is better for them is accepting things they cannot change. Many have realized that things in life are beyond their control, for example, their age. Instead of stressing out over such issues, the elderly are electing to focus on the things they have control over. For instance, they cannot control the time clock and reverse time, but they can control their attitude towards their aging (Williams et al., 2020). This also means that they cannot control how they react to perception of the society about them, but they can control how they react to the society. Aging is a challenge to anyone both physically and mentally since there are things cannot do at an old age or in the same way they did in their youthful days.

Factors affecting old people

Even though diseases and disability are not guaranteed for old people, they are more common as individual ages. Diseases such as Alzheimer hinder the way the individuals live regarding the normal daily activities and tasks. For instance, some of the patients of this condition are unable to take care of themselves (Williams et al., 2020). This is something that hinders them from living a good life as they become dependent on others around them. Another issue affecting the elderly is advancement in technology which has created a large gap between them and the younger people. They fail to communicate their issues to others since they are incapable of interacting using the latest technological devices and it is frustrating.

Conclusion

In the paper, it can be seen that different people treat the aging individuals differently. The reason for the difference in treatment is because of how the different groups of people view the elderly. There is a section that sees them as liability and another as a useful and valuable resource. It has also been shown that the elderly are trying to adjust to the society as they realize their state. Reaching an old age is a blessing of life that many do not get and the elderly have elected to choose to look at the positive side which allows them to be useful even at their age.

References

Boyd, C., Masoudi, F. A., Smith, C. D., Blaum, C. S., Tinetti, M. E., Dodson, J. A.,… & Green, A. R. (2019). Decision making for older adults with multiple chronic conditions: Executive summary for the American geriatrics Society guiding principles on the care of older adults with multimorbidity. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 67(4), 665-673. Web.

Ciobanu, R. O., Nedelcu, M., van Holten, K., & Ammann, E. S. (2020). Intersections between aging as well as migration: current trends and challenges. Swiss Journal of Sociology, 46(2), 187-197. Web.

Li, M., Chen, R., & Dong, X. (2020). Elder Mistreatment Across Various Cultures. Generations, 44(1), 20-25. Web.

Stauder, R., Theurl, I., & Valent, P. (2018). Anemia at older age: etiologies, clinical implications, and management. Blood, The Journal of the American Society of Hematology, 131(5), 505-514. Web.

Williams, J. L., Hernandez-Tejada, M. A., Acierno, R., & Racette, E. H. (2020). Prevalence of elder polyvictimization in the United States: data from the national elder mistreatment study. Journal of interpersonal violence, 35(21-22), 4517-4532. Web.

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EssaysInCollege. (2023, March 1). Various Perspectives of Society About Aging. Retrieved from https://essaysincollege.com/various-perspectives-of-society-about-aging/

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References

EssaysInCollege. (2023) 'Various Perspectives of Society About Aging'. 1 March.

References

EssaysInCollege. 2023. "Various Perspectives of Society About Aging." March 1, 2023. https://essaysincollege.com/various-perspectives-of-society-about-aging/.

1. EssaysInCollege. "Various Perspectives of Society About Aging." March 1, 2023. https://essaysincollege.com/various-perspectives-of-society-about-aging/.


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EssaysInCollege. "Various Perspectives of Society About Aging." March 1, 2023. https://essaysincollege.com/various-perspectives-of-society-about-aging/.

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EssaysInCollege. 2023. "Various Perspectives of Society About Aging." March 1, 2023. https://essaysincollege.com/various-perspectives-of-society-about-aging/.

1. EssaysInCollege. "Various Perspectives of Society About Aging." March 1, 2023. https://essaysincollege.com/various-perspectives-of-society-about-aging/.


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EssaysInCollege. "Various Perspectives of Society About Aging." March 1, 2023. https://essaysincollege.com/various-perspectives-of-society-about-aging/.