Aging is a natural process that implies changes in a person’s physical and mental abilities due to the biological mechanisms of the body. While this process is inevitable, many people fail to be sensitive towards the language they use, which results in derogatory comments or ageism.
The term aging refers to the natural process of physical changes in a person’s body. Gendron, Welleford, Inkers, and White argue that contemporary society has a predominantly negative and stereotypical view of older people. This arises as an issue itself, however, another aspect that proves to be problematic is the aging population that will result in a more significant number of old individuals when compared to young. Ageism is a term that describes an adverse view of older people. In some cultures around the world, these ideas are considered a norm, and concepts applied by the beauty and health industry that refer to anti-aging capabilities can be seen in the US. These marketing approaches indicate that people should be wary of growing old and invest in products that help slow this natural process.
The issue outlined above highlights the derogatory view of aging and older people that exists in society and is exploited by many industries that use people’s fear of growing old to their advantage. One element of this issue that people fail to account for is the fact that aging is inevitable regardless of the procedures and creams one uses. This aspect of a person’s life will affect everyone and will change both the physical and mental capabilities of an individual. The research of the language used by people to display negative attitudes conducted by Gendron et al. indicates that, in some cases, people with good intentions can contribute to ageism. For instance, saying that an older adult looks young implies that remarkable features such as grey hair or wrinkles are bad. More extreme examples refer to comments such as “she is not aging well” that apply to changes in a person’s body.
Thus, one can argue that fundamentally, society established a positive view of youth that results in derogatory attitudes towards aging. Duarte and Albo provide an assessment of commonly used phrases that are offensive to the older community, which includes phrases such as elderly or of a certain age. This information provides an understanding of why one has to careful when referring to older people, even when speaking with good intention. This adverse view requires more attention from the public to illuminate the negative associations.
My experience with older relatives in most cases has been positive. However, when reflecting on the issue of ageism, I understood that my family used ideas of looking young in regard to older people. Although I know that phrases and words that are considered ageism were not used with the wrong intention, this indicates a need to change the societal attitudes towards the issue. In most cases, my older relatives tell stories about their youth or particular experiences they had, although I cannot recall one specific story that has been repeated many times. I think that in this way, they aim to share their wisdom and experience, which requires respect and understanding. Overall, the issue of ageism is a serious problem within our society.