Title: What is Social Gerontology?
Headings: What is Social Gerontology?
What is Social Gerontology?
Ageism: Stereotyping and Prejudice
In the Workforce
In the Media
In Healthcare
How do I Get Involved?
Myths Associated with Aging
Aging means Alzheimer's
Aging means no contribution to society
Aging means physical inactivity
Aging means the end of learning
Aging means loneliness and depression

Content: Stereotyping and Prejudice
In the book “Ageism: Stereotyping and Prejudice Against Older Persons,” Todd Nelson writes that age prejudice is “the most socially condoned, institutionalized form of prejudice in the world – especially the United States.” Ageism is perpetrated through institutional policies that perpetuate stereotypes through discriminatory practices toward older adults – meaning that older adults find themselves discriminated against in the workforce, in the media, and in the health care system. In the Workforce
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 prevents employers from laying off anyone over 40 based on age, but age discrimination is still widespread in the workplace. Nelson cites jokes, expressed ageist attitudes, and discriminatory attitudes in regard to hiring, firing, and decision making as forms of discrimination still practiced in the workplace. The assumption that older adults are incapable of performing their jobs contributes to negative feelings about aging, and causes others to view older adults as a burden. These feelings are likely to change in time, however. According to statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of people in the workforce aged 55 and older is expected to increase by 43% between 2008 and 2018 to nearly a quarter of the total working population. As more older adults continue with their careers, societal perceptions of older age will likely change, reducing age discrimination in the workplace. In the Media
In “Understanding Communication and Aging,” author Jake Harwood writes that older adults represented only 3% of characters in major prime-time shows in 1999, despite making up nearly 15% of the real world population.