I think that it is so hard in defining old people because the term is so vague. It’s kind of like throwing every old person in the world in the same boat, as if each one was exactly the same. But as we no, not everyone old person is the same as the other. Just like every young person, or middle-aged person isn’t the same as the other.
In today’s world there is an increasing number of ‘elderly population’. It is the highest is has ever been. In almost every country, the proportion of people aged over 60 years is growing faster than any other age group, as a result of both longer life expectancy and declining fertility rates. This population ageing can be seen as a success story for public health policies and for socioeconomic development, but it also challenges society to adapt, in order to maximize the health and functional capacity of older people as well as their social participation and security.
Modern society is built by the young for the young. It is a dynamic creation that does not give much consideration to the old, sick, handicapped or incapable. They are merely tolerated as so much liability or nuisance. So these hardly wanted people face many problems in their everyday living.
The old, who were once young; helped to make the present society, and now they pay the price of their former neglect of the old. They themselves are neglected and unappreciated in turn.
Maybe this is one of the reasons why we see elderly people as bitter and set in their ways, because we have pushed them out of society with all of our modern technology that they know nothing about or how to use, or because of fast cars that they don’t like or a fast pased life that they are not used to. Maybe they long for the old days. And maybe this is why the younger generation have no time for the old, because they don’t understand us or our way of living and live.
In the old days, most people did not go very far from their birthplace and thus families usually stayed together. The family unit is strong and practical. Today the family unit is breaking apart as young men and women travel widely in search of better jobs. So the chances are that the old folks will be left alone and neglected. Sometimes they are not wanted by their children at all. The luckier ones may have a child or two staying with them. The less fortunate ones may have to pine their lives away in an old folks’ home or in their now empty house that once was filled with the sound of children’s laughter. This neglect is a very real problem in our society and it is what the old dread most – being unwanted and uncared for in the time of need.
Also in today’s economic climate where jobs are few and far between the likelihood of an older person getting a job rather that a younger person is not very high at all. This means that a lot of the older population is unemployed and either seen as useless by the youth or feeling useless themselves.
Ageism is common place in today’s society. Ageism is discrimination based on a person’s age, it has a dramatic‚ detrimental effect on older people but this is often not acknowledged. Some situations which older people may be familiar to are losing their jobs because they are too old, being refused interest-free credit‚ a new credit card or car insurance because of your age.
According to Erik Erikson’s "Eight Stages of Life" theory, the human personality is developed in a series of eight stages that take place from the time of birth and continue on throughout an individual’s complete life. He characterises old age as a period of "Integrity vs. Despair", during which a person focuses on reflecting back on their life. Those who are unsuccessful during this phase will feel that their life has been wasted and will experience many regrets. The individual will be left with feelings of bitterness and despair. Those who feel proud of their accomplishments will feel a sense of integrity. Successfully completing this phase means looking back with few regrets and a general feeling of satisfaction. These individuals will attain wisdom, even when confronting death.
However even with all the discrimination and ageism in today’s society there are still some people who do not frown upon the ageing population and there are still positive attitudes towards older people. And I think that there is broad agreement that older people are much younger in their ways these days. Also, older people have experienced life and this gives them the knowledge, experience and maturity in being able to deal with situations that a younger person may not know how to handle.
Also, having lived such a long life may have shown them what is important in life, they will know what their priorities should be and will know how to keep them straight. Unlike a arrogant youth, or stubborn middle-aged person.
Also, todays ageing population are now more interested in keeping fit and healthy. I know this because of my own experience, every week I go to a Zumba class and more than half of the class is of the ‘older’ population. And they are just as fit as any young person in the class.
Whenever an older person retires it also means that they have more time for hobbies that they enjoy. I know this as my grandmother goes to a book club every week. This gives her the chance to socialise and have a laugh with her friends.
There are also lots of classes that older people can take to keep them up to date worth the modern world. Things like computer classes which teaches them to use the computer to send emails and surf the web. This also gives them a new qualification if they wanted to apply for jobs.
I am going to conclude that it was not easy at all to define ‘Old People’ because they are all different in their own right.