According to the documentary, one of the surprising facts about it is the increased number of the old population. It is evident that the young generation would have to cater to the needs of the old people. As such, it means that most of the productive population would concentrate on taking care of the old people which is likely to hurt the economy. It is noted that 45% of old people are suffering from various types of chronic illness. With such aspect, there requires a lot of medical attention. The documentary also indicates that 67% of the old people cannot be able to sustain themselves with such type of chronic illness. It points out that they will need assistance from the general public. The government, on the other hand, has been reluctant to address the needs of such an old population unless they are taken to a nursing home. What is more, those nursing homes are costly and not all the old people can be able to afford them.
One of the manful factors about the documentary is the measures that the government is planning to put in place to address the increased age rate. For example, the government indicates that it is likely to allocate more resources to cater to the needs of the old age which include building more nursing homes for old people (Maestripieri, 2014). The current nursing homes are not enough and would not be able to cater to the increasing needs of older people. Another meaningful aspect is the way some of the NGOs have been helpful to address the needs of the people. It is noted that 33% of the older population depends on these NGOs to provide for them the different medical supplies that they would need (Wright, 2017). It is beneficial to support such people as much as they do not contribute to economic development like the younger generation.
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The documentary has changed my view of getting old in various ways. First, I have learned that I need to save a lot of my resources to ensure that I can take care of myself when I get older. Most of the old people lack the necessary resources that would cater for the increased needs. On the other hand, the people who belong to wealthy families are still living a comfortable life since the family could be able to afford some of those medical needs (Hortobágyi, 2013). As such, it shows that older people who are poor are disadvantaged compared to the wealthy ones. Another perspective that has changed is the idea that it is not right for older adults to depend on the government as the limited supply from the government cannot address most of their needs.
Explain Erikson's theory of Ego Integrity vs. Despair focuses on the different stages of personal life starting from the age of 65 to death. It points out that it is the period in which a person begins to reflect his or her accomplishments. Erikson explains that it is crucial for a person to come to terms with the death and start accepting responsibility for your life. Without accepting such responsibility, it is likely to lead to despair and lastly death. The same element is applicable in the documentary in which some people are still not content on the fact that they are old and their responsibilities have changed. The weeks learning has enabled me to understand the different stages of Erikson's theory and how it can result in fulfillment.
References
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/livingold/
Hortobágyi, T., Mizelle, C., Beam, S., & DeVita, P. (2013). Old adults perform activities of daily living near their maximal capabilities. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences , 58 (5), M453-M460.
Maestripieri, D. (2014). Social structure, infant handling, and mothering styles in group-living Old World monkeys. International Journal of Primatology , 15 (4), 531-553.
Wright, P. (2017). On living in an old country: The national past in contemporary Britain . OUP Oxford.
