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: An individual’s age, gender, level of knowledge, interaction with old adults and how frequent, cultural influences, modernization and the media are all factors that may influence how the elderly is perceived by members of society. Additionally, there are a lot of misconceptions about older adults since most people are not knowledgeable about aging. These misconceptions include: most older adults cannot live independently, chronologic age determines oldness, most elderly persons have diminished intellectual capacity or are senile, all older people are content and serene, all older persons are resistant to change and older adults cannot be productive or active. The functionalist theory looked at how the different parts of society work together in order for it to function smoothly. With respect to the elderly, functionalists believe that the elders are one of society’s fundamental groups. However, the disengagement theory states that withdrawal from society is a normal behaviour portrayed by the aging individual. This is so because the elderly experiences a reduction in both their physical and mental level of functioning, hence they expects at some point in time they will die, resulting in withdrawal from individuals and society (Cummings and Henry 1961). Additionally, the activity theory seeks to explain that activity levels and social involvement are key aspects in replacing what was lost and went on further to say it is the key to happiness (Havinghurst 1961; Neugarten 1964;