In our society, what are some ways of discrimination seniors might encounter? Can you give a few examples?
Ageism is prejudice or discrimination toward people based on their age. It typically refers to older people, but it can also affect young adults. It harms physical and mental health, and some studies associate it with earlier death.
There are many ways to describe ageism. Terms that define where ageism takes place include:
• Institutional ageism, which happens when an institution maintains ageism through its actions and policies
• Interpersonal ageism, which happens through social interactions
• Internalized ageism, which is when a person embodies ageist ideas and applies them to themselves
Ageism can also change according to the situation. For example, hostile ageism means someone showing and acting on aggressive beliefs about age. By contrast, benevolent ageism means someone having condescending views towards people based on their age, such as seniors are childlike and need supervision with basic tasks. It’s worth mentioning the difference between explicit and implicit ageism.
If a person is conscious of what they are doing, it’s called explicit ageism, and if they’re unaware of the meaning and consequences of their actions, we are dealing with the implicit kind.
Based on the 2020 National Poll on Healthy Aging, 82% of older Americans have stated that they experience ageism regularly. The survey also found: 65% have received ageist messages from the media, 45% have experienced interpersonal ageism 36% have internalized ageism.
Some examples of ageism in the workplace involve:
• Resisting to hire people over or under a specific age
• Asking someone’s age at a job interview when it’s irrelevant to the work
• Establishing policies that unjustly privilege one age group over another
• Seeing older people as out of touch, unproductive, or stubborn
• Calling younger people unskilled, irresponsible, or untrustworthy
• Bullying or harassing people because of their age.
Some examples that might accrue in personal relationships include:
• Treating elders as though they are invisible, uneducated, or expendable based on their age.
• Based on their age, they make ageist jokes that indicate someone is less valuable or less deserving of respect.
• Making insulting generalizations about a specific generation
• Dismissing someone’s concerns or wishes due to their age
• Taking advantage of someone’s age for personal profits, such as to make money
• Using someone’s age as grounds to undermine, deceive, or control them
Ageism can also lead to abuse. The WHO organization reports that in 2017, a review found that 1 in 6 above 60 has experienced elder abuse, including emotional, physical, sexual, or financial.