Title: Perception of the Elderly in Modern Society
Headings: Perception of the Elderly in Modern Society
Perception of the Elderly in Modern Society
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Content: However, he further stated that, before modernization and industrialization could take place in the United States the decline in the elderly being powerful had already began. According to the Encyclopedia of Aging (2002), Fischer further argued that between 1800’s and 1900’s the cultural transformation took place when citizens became interested in the principles of independence and egalitarianism. These behaviours were influenced mainly by the standards of the French Revolution. These new cultural values are accountable for the lower statuses of elders in the US and by extension Western societies today. For this reason, our elderly are no longer treated with the respect compared to log ago and this is where ageism is seen and ageist behaviours being demonstrated towards the older individuals in society. Ageism generates unnecessary fear, waste, illness, and misery (Palmore, 2004); hence it has an impact on both society and culture, even though most individuals are not aware of it. Ageism and ageist attitudes is one of the factors that can contribute to elder abuse by creating a fertile environment in which the abuse can develop, leading to age discrimination, and devaluing and disempowering older people. The elderly themselves feels less valuable to society because of society’s perception of them. The youth centric culture in which we live describes us as lacking compassion for the elderly, the affinity to “shoot” our weak and wounded, us versus them mentally and the impression that one’s value is based on what one can add to society (Holman, 2010).