Aging Stereotypes

Stereotypes are very prevalent in our society today. These sometimes negative common conceptions are placed on many groups, including the elderly. With the ageing population growing at an increasing rate, these stereotypes affect a large portion of our population. Some common misconceptions of older people are that all people who are “old” are sick; the older you get, the less help you are to society; and that a large amount of our tax money goes to the elderly when they don’t need it. Although some stereotypes are true for a number of instances, I believe it to be sad and unfortunate that these beliefs are put over the group as a whole.

Stereotypes of older people can be described as ageism. Defined by Robert Butler in our book Health in the Later Years, “Ageism is the assumption that personal traits of older individuals and their situations are due to age, not other factors.” With this said, the belief that all old people are sick, is not true. As a person ages, they do become more susceptible to chronic disease and illness, however young people can suffer from these same health disabilities. Chronic illness plagues much of the older community; however there are a number of individuals who have kept a strong and healthy lifestyle through diet, exercise, and knowledge. As we go into the future more well-informed about health and disease, this stereotype may eventually disappear. With the average life expectancy increasing, we can see that people are living a longer and healthier life.

Another negative stereotype that is put on the older age group is that they are less help to society. It is true that once a person reaches a certain stage in their health, they may not be able to perform tasks and duties as they once were. However, we sometimes forget that this could be at any age in a person’s life. Again, we can look at longer life expectancy to dismiss this conception. Because people are living longer, they are also working and giving back to society longer. This can also be seen with the increased age of retirement; although this may be due to the economic state, people are still able to continue active and productive lives for much longer than before. We also need to think about the activities that older people participate in for most all of their later years. Community service and volunteer work are examples of ways that this age group does give back to society even if they are no longer working, and in some cases are disease-stricken.

Health care is an issue that has many sides, and continues to be an argued political topic. One aging stereotype that I myself have actually heard with my own ears is that all of our tax money goes to health care for the elderly. I can understand how to some it may be frustration to see a chuck of their paycheck taken out for Medicare coverage, however there is much more to this. Because older people are more likely to have a chronic illness, they utilize and need health care coverage more than any other group. With a lower income these older individuals may not have the means to pay for necessary care. As it is, older people still have to pay thousands of dollars for health care. According to our book, Health in the Later Years, “In 2003, the average out-of-pocket health care expenses (paid by elders themselves) averaged $3899, almost 13 percent of their total income and more than twice that of the general population (almost 6 percent)”. If we look at this stereotype example from other angles, people have to be more willing to pitch in for the needs of the elderly. These are our parents, grandparents, and one day us!

Living with my grandparents I have been able to see and experience firsthand, two elderly people of similar age, at different levels of health. My grandmother is active and healthy at the age of 86, while my grandfather is bedridden with chronic disease at 85. To me it is very saddening to read and hear many of the stereotypes that are put on the older population. So many people are narrow-minded and oblivious to many issues in this world, and I encourage everyone to battle against the negative stereotypes that are put on all groups that make up our world.