Contents
Hello! Ageism is the discrimination of a person on the basis of age, that is, the infringement of the rights of older people, treating them as already useless, incapable of being useful.
And today we will talk about how this discrimination manifests itself, for what reasons and what methods of combating it already exist.
History of occurrence
The term originated in 1969 thanks to Robert Butler. He was just studying the issue of infringement of the rights of people who belonged to a fairly mature category of people. And it comes from the English word age, which translates as age.
Robert drew attention to the fact that the needs of older people are not always taken into account. In relation to them, there are a lot of stereotypes, and negative ones.
This, so to speak, social phenomenon became more noticeable during the transition of society from industrial to post-industrial, and then to modern, informational. The fact is that in the past, preference was given to the young workforce, because it is easier to manage.
Few of the 20-year-old boys and girls could defend their rights. Demand higher wages due to experience and skills. Yes, and they are faster, more energetic.
Why go far, such examples were all the time in the Soviet era. Remember the slogans: “The young are everywhere dear to us, the elderly are everywhere honored by us”?
Think about the meaning of the phrase. It also veils the information that sufficiently mature people are worth their ambitions and aspirations to moderate. Since the road is open only to those who are younger. Therefore, it remains only to admit that he is no longer capable of anything and accept respect with gratitude, letting the others go ahead.
Even ambulances arrived much later when they found out how old the patient was. As if there was an unspoken rule, those from whom there is already no real benefit, but only waste, cannot be saved. Let it be the way it is. At that time, if a call was received about the state of health of a young man, the car drove out as quickly as possible.
How does it manifest itself and appear?
Have you heard of such a thing as psychological age? It is not at all connected with the biological and reflects how a person perceives himself. And also the difference between what he planned and what he managed to turn into reality.
Think back to your childhood, adolescence. What did you think about the future, how did you imagine yourself at the age of 25? Most likely, an accomplished owner of a private business. Or that it will already be possible to independently earn money for a car and an apartment. And then, when these cherished 25 years come, it turns out that nothing of the planned came to fruition.
In addition, thoughts arise that in this life I have already seen everything. In the sense that usually should happen to people, it has already happened, for example, a wedding, the birth of children, and so on. That’s when 30-year-old old people appear, outwardly young, but inwardly no longer expecting anything.
They perceive themselves as failures, they failed to achieve success on time, and those who succeeded do not know what heights to set further and what to strive for in general. That’s when the crisis happens, which is not so easy to deal with.
Examples
Although there are many examples of how people managed to become famous all over the world only at a fairly mature age. They seem to refute the prevailing stereotypes. That if you didn’t have time to build a career in your youth, then there is nothing left but to simply live out without making any attempts to fulfill yourself.
Let’s say Harland Sanders founded KFC only after 40 years. And Takishiro Mori, created the Mori Building Company at the age of 51, which in 1992 allowed him to receive the title of the richest man in the world.
And the artist Anna Moses left a lot of brilliant creations, starting to write only at the age of 76.
In general, check out this article, it contains a more detailed biography of people who dramatically changed their lives at one moment, proving that neither advanced years nor anything else can act as an obstacle if a person is motivated to realize his desires.
Also, be sure to watch the movie «The Intern» if you haven’t seen it yet. In addition to the great performance of Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro, it breaks down stereotypes about older people whose activities are associated with modern technology.
Work
The most acute problem of discrimination on this basis is manifested in working moments. There are a lot of vacancies that indicate that applicants under 30 or 40 years old are invited. Sometimes up to 50, but in modern society, approximately 25-year-old employees are most in demand.
Those who do not fall into the demanded category either have to look for a job for a long time, or get used to a new profession in order to still feed their families.
Although young people are more desirable for companies. Since it is more active and has a sharpness of perception, it processes information faster and learns new material. More mature people, in addition to experience and knowledge, have an excellent integrative mental function.
That is, they can successfully organize the activities of other people, as well as invent simpler ways to achieve their plans, without unnecessary resource costs. Such skills come only after 50 years.
Perhaps for this reason, “very mature” leaders lead companies, enterprises to success, even if it has been in a crisis for a long time, or in general, were on the verge of bankruptcy.
Cons of ageism
The downside is that people who are used to living in a society that discriminates against the older generation do not know how to take care of their future. I mean, when they associate old age with illness, loneliness, narrow-mindedness, and in the post-Soviet countries also begging, they have no particular desire to live up to this time.
Therefore, they strive to grab everything from life while there is an opportunity. And for the most part they live literally one day, not caring about the consequences. Why, having reached about 60 years old, they will feel that their body is excessively worn out, for example, by unrestrained parties in their youth, night shifts and complete disregard for sports.
They don’t accumulate much, because in their more active years they were not motivated to create something valuable, unique. They were more attracted to the possibility of obtaining quick benefits.
It turns out that like this slowly, gradually they destroy themselves. And when they really become limited in something, they realize that they have missed a lot. Only now there is no way to correct their mistakes.
This sometimes leads to severe stress against the background of disappointment, pain, anger. Which, in turn, can provoke the onset of mental disorders. Why often older people are called senile and so on. Or problems with the cardiovascular system.
Indeed, according to statistics, people who are extremely negative about aging live about 7 years less than their peers with more positive outlooks on life.
Pros
As it is not surprising, but ageism also has positive aspects. In some cases, it allows a person to «stay afloat», feel needed and useful after retirement.
Yes, the state no longer needs it, social ties have already become, due to the fact that many friends and acquaintances simply could not live to old age, for example, having an accident, falling ill with a serious illness, and so on.
So, the main function of the elderly in this period is the transfer of experience to the younger generation. They fill their niche, important enough, instead of trying to keep up with modern technology, win the competition and prove that they are still full of strength.
Women teach daughters and daughters-in-law to take care of children. Help them to cope with household chores at first. Men who have lost their former aggressiveness become more balanced and conscious. That allows them to give advice to their grown sons regarding work, family and life in general. Resolve conflicts and be a support for them in difficult times.
Methods of struggle
In the post-Soviet space, the fight against ageism is not yet as active as in the West. For example, in America, women after 50-60 tend to be seen, first of all, as colleagues, employees, so if there is no dress code in the office, they will wear comfortable clothes that do not attract attention.
While, for example, in Russia, most ladies tend to look catchy, proving that they have not yet lost their sexuality and femininity, that they cannot yet be “written off”. From that they wear bright makeup, purple hair and sometimes choose things that are more appropriate for teenagers than adults.
At the moment, if you shoot in the US some kind of children’s film or cartoon, in which there will be negative elderly characters, the director and the company itself risk getting a lawsuit.
Just remember the well-known image of Baba Yaga, almost every very old and thin grandmother is associated with her. Many children are afraid of them for this very reason, suspecting them of evil intentions.
Start with yourself
The best way to counter ageism is to reevaluate your own values. After all, to change the world, you need to start with yourself. Just remember how you reacted when your parents or grandparents did something that, in your opinion, was not appropriate for their age?
We seem to admire people who, as they say, in their declining years, fall in love and get married. It gives us hope that it’s never too late to find your love. But as soon as the matter concerns relatives, for some reason, the majority has condemnation instead of admiration.
There are even a lot of jokes about Russian artists who do not want to leave the stage. Although we treat Western stars with favor, sometimes, almost worshiping them.
Although the World Health Organization decided to amend the classification of ages. Persons from 25 to 44 years old are considered young, people of middle age, respectively, from 44 to 60 years. This is followed by the category of the elderly — from 60 to 75 years old, the elderly — from 75 to 90. And everyone who has lived more than 90 years is called centenarians.
Completion
Subscribe to the blog, dear readers! To be aware of new and useful information that will contribute to the process of self-development and self-improvement.
I also recommend that you read the article about morality and the qualities that it includes. Because the questions that were raised regarding discrimination — they just reflect the lack of morality in most people. It manifests itself in indifference, indifference, anti-humanism, tactlessness and so on.
Take care of yourself and be happy!
The material was prepared by a psychologist, Gestalt therapist, Zhuravina Alina