Misconceptions Of Ageism Essay

Of the many relevant topics in this article, the three that stood out to me were ageism, successful aging, and functional age. They each stood out to me for different reasons, but I feel as though they are all important in my field of study, gerontology. Everyone will be dealing with older adults at some point in their life, but most people don’t know how to interact with them, and there are many misconceptions and myths regarding older adults. Ageism is defined as a prejudice or stereotype against older adults just because of their age. This concept is engrained into our society and older adults are often joked about. For example, the general belief is that old people are slow, isolated, boring, not sexual, sad, and a burden. This suggests that every older person is the same, which is simply not true. Ageism most often comes in the form of jokes, which poke fun at older people and can make them feel left out or uncomfortable. This is also a problem due to the way our society glorifies youth and dreads getting older. Some people are afraid to get older, dyeing their hair and using serums to combat the effects of aging. This idea also plays into the concept of elderspeak, which assumes that older adults can’t hear or understand what you’re saying. Understanding and combating ageism is vital to everyone, but someone in

Successful aging can be defined differently for everyone. For some, it means being socially active, or having leisure time to enjoy themselves, or maybe just being with friends and family. Generally, it means being active in one’s lifestyle, being able to function (mentally and physically), and having lower chances of sickness or disease. A few examples of people who have aged successfully are Grandma Moses, Monet, Renoir, Pablo Casals, and Maurice Ravel. The concept of successful aging is important because it shows that older adults are capable of being happy with their lives and still living and doing things that they