Debunking Ageist Assumptions
“I’ve recently been reading about rampant age discrimination. Why are negative stereotypes about older people so prevalent in our culture, unlike in many other cultures where older members are revered? ”
Dear Older and Bolder,
Yes, ageism is unfortunately a major problem in our culture, where youth is idolized and the “anti-aging” market constantly comes up with new products promising to prevent or at least slow the aging process. This obsession with youth was not always the case. For most of history and in many cultures still today, those who made it to old age were highly respected. Yet in our culture they are often portrayed as a burden with degrading phrases such as the “gray tsunami”. There is also a general fear of aging, which is fueled by demeaning birthday cards, jokes, and negative assumptions about what life is like at later stages.
Not only is ageism harmful, it is completely irrational because anyone who is living is also aging, and will one day be an older person themselves. On the absurdity of being prejudiced to someone because of their age, in her book This Chair Rocks author Ashton Applewhite notes, “Ageism is a prejudice against our own future selves...and has the dubious distinction of being the only ‘ism’ related to a universal condition” (p. 16).
Furthermore, ageist stereotypes—such as the assumption that all older people are lonely and miserable—are simply untrue. A University of Warwick study with data from two million participants across 80 countries found that regardless of wealth or marital status, people were the most miserable in middle age and the happiest in childhood and towards the ends of their lives. Applewhite writes, “Especially in the emotional realm, older brains are more resilient. As we turn eighty, brain imaging shows frontal lobe changes that improve our ability to deal with negative emotions like anger, envy, and fear. Older Adults experience less social anxiety, and fewer social phobias. Even as its discrete processing skills degrade, the normal aging brain enables greater emotional maturity, adaptability to change, and levels of well-being” (p. 75). In The Unexpected Pleasures of Growing Older, author Wendy Lustbader notes that although youth is a wonderful time, it is often coupled with many doubts and insecurities. As we age we become more confident, self-aware, and less worried about what others think—which leads to real, authentic happiness. That sure doesn’t sound bad to me!
Negative assumptions about older employees in the workplace have also been proven to be completely unfounded. According to Wharton professor and coauthor of Managing the Older Worker, Peter Cappelli, “Every aspect of job performance gets better as we age...I thought the picture would be more mixed, but it isn’t.” Historian David Hackett Fischer has found that employees in their sixties and seventies are more dependable, work more harmoniously with coworkers, are absent less often, and produce better quality output than their younger counterparts.
If we want to see a change in our society about how older adults are perceived, let’s first start with ourselves, because let’s face it—after being surrounded by ageist ideology for decades, it’s rubbed off on us too. We must acknowledge any internal prejudices we may hold about growing older, and seek to “unlearn” them. After all, it’s been found that those with positive attitudes about aging live an average of seven and a half years longer than those with a negative attitude towards it! When people around us notice our joy and positive attitude towards aging, we will be breaking down ageism little by little.