Ageism is normally discrimination which involves intolerance against individuals on the basis of their age. Just like racism or sexism, it involves the holding of negative views or stereotypes about individuals of different ages, more especially the old ages. Robert Butler, a gerontologist, was the first to use the term ageism to refer to discrimination of old adults (Brownell & Kelly, 2013). However, today the term is generally used across ages, whether it entails bias against young children, adolescents, young adults or older adults. Butler also established that ageism was made up of three intertwining elements; these include; discriminatory attitudes towards old age, older persons, as well as the aging process (Brownell & Kelly, 2013). Also in this category were the prejudicial practices against older persons; institutional policies and practices that carry on stereotyping elderly persons.
Ageism is frequently expressed in workplaces, whereby it has led to pay disparity or challenging to get employment (Adler, 2013). For example, younger graduates may get it challenging in finding jobs and also get a lower pay as compared to others due to their alleged lack of experience. On the other hand, older adults may have trouble in getting promotions, new jobs and even changing careers.
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This topic is significant to the society in that it informs it on what brings about ageism, what impacts ageism poses to the very fabric of the society, and how the society can deal decisively with the concept of ageism in the contemporary. As such, the importance of the topic cannot be underrated; the significance of the topic is the driving force behind the numerous researches being carried out.
Literature review
According to researchers ageism is surprisingly not a new phenomenon. One of the studies conducted and published in a 2013 copy of The Gerontologist, the researchers assessed how older persons were represented in social media groups. After the study, they found out that 85 groups were committed to the topic of the older adults, although many of these groups were founded by individuals in their early 20s. The study showed that almost 75% of the groups survive to disparage older persons and almost 40 % promoted banning them from carrying out activities such as driving and shopping (Adler, 2013).
The US Equal Opportunity Commission argues that nearly a quarter of all the claims filed by employees are associated with age-based prejudice. It also notes that older adults feel the effect of this prejudice in their areas of work (US Equal Opportunity Commission, n.d.). Reports from AARP indicate that in every five employees in the US one is above the age of 55. As such, the report also indicated that almost 66 % of employees said that they have experienced ageism at work, and 59% of those interviewed believe that age-based discrimination became obvious at 50 years of age.
According to researchers North and Fiske, stereotypes about older persons mostly associated to how younger individuals expect them to behave (North & Fiske, 2013). They gave out three stereotypes that have greatly contributed to ageism. One of them is succession ; in this young individuals assume that the older ones have had their time, and now they should pave way for the younger cohort. The second stereotype the researchers put forward was consumption . Their study showed that younger people more often feel that the scarce resources should be spent on them instead on the older individuals. The third stereotype was associated with the identity of old persons (North & Fiske, 2013). According to the researchers, younger individuals feel that the older should "behave their age'' and that they should not copy the identities of younger individuals such as their dressing code. As per the assessment from above, it is evident that ageism is a serious issue and should be treated the same way as racism, sexism, and disability-based prejudice. Thus there is the need to create public awareness about ageism. And as the older population continues to rise, better ways should be created to lessen ageism.
Conflict theory
The conflict theory puts the details of aging at the forefront of its analysis. As such, the conflict theory of aging emphasizes the effects of ageism or prejudices against older people. As a result of this view, older employees are perceived non-productive thus devalued ( Hooyman & Kiyak, 2011). This is because of they no longer economically productive and that their huge salaries, health benefits and other expenses bring down capitalist profits. The Conflict theory also contends that the inequalities among the older cut across gender, ethnicity, race, and along with social classes. However, the theory is criticized for blaming ageism on the current capitalist economies. It fails to recognize the fact that ageism existed in the pre-industrial societies; even though in those societies the views were generally positive as opposed to the present societies.
Conclusion
Although the concept of ageism seems to have existed in the pre-industrial societies, it is not widely known to many in the contemporary society. Also many people especially the young perpetuate this prejudice without the knowledge that it is a serious offense. As such, there is the need to create awareness over it. According to the reviewed articles the information they give is solely based on research done by decorated researchers and institutions, thus the information therein is credited and can be substantiated.
References
Adler, T. (2013). Ageism: Alive and kicking. APS Observer, 26(7). Retrieved from http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2013/september-13/ageism-alive-and-kicking.html
Brownell, P. J., & Kelly, J. J. (2013). Ageism and mistreatment of older workers: Current reality, future solutions . Dordrecht: Springer.
Hooyman, N. R., & Kiyak, H. A. (2011). Social gerontology: A multidisciplinary perspective (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
North, M. S., & Fiske, S. T. (2013). A prescriptive intergenerational-tension ageism scale: Succession, identity, and consumption. Psychological Assessment. Advance online publication.
US Equal Opportunity Commission.(n.d.). Statistics.
Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/adea.cfm
