age Flashcards
Laslett (1991)
saw age in 3 stages:
1 - a period of socialisation
2 - a phase of work and childrearing
3 - a time of independence
Milne et al (1999)
- the idea of one homogeneous group for the elderly is incorrect
- there’s those who have retired and those over 80
Pilcher
- argued for the ‘young old’ between 65 to 74
- ’ middle aged old’ between 75 and 84
- ‘old old’ as 85+
Johnson and Bytheway (1993)
defined ageism as the offensive exercise of power through reference to age, institutionally, through organisational and legal practices or based n stereotypical prejudice
discrimination through retirement legislation
- pension age used to be 65 for men and younger for women
- it should be an individuals choice, not society
- people aren’t in the position financially to retire
crisis of elderly overpopulation
- by 2021 33% of the UK population will be over 55
- issues such as dependency and healthcare
- more people needing social services and housing
child poverty
- 3.5million children in poverty in the UK
- this figure is constantly rising
elderly poverty
- 16% of pensioners in the UK live in poverty
- fuel poverty being a big issue where people have to choose between food and heat
- since 2013 an extra 300,000 pensioners are living in poverty
Gentleman (2009)
- studied a care home in Ipswich
- even with good care and a safe environment its an unpleasant experience
- families never visit and it’s seen as a place where elderly people are left to die
digital generation gap
- the digital divide causes problems for employment as older people are less comfortable with technology
- they feel like strangers in their own land as they don’t get along with the youth or understand them as they’re not on social media
2019 Ageist Britain report
- 34% of Brits admit they have discriminated against someones age
- 68% of over 50’s say ageism is apparent in everyday life
- 1 in 3 have experience ageism at work
elderly and isolation
- loneliness is experienced the most by the elderly
- lack of income and physical mobility limits them
- basic care in their homes can sometimes breach human rights
elderly and health
- COVID 19 as an example, no PPE, deaths in care homes as not being admitted to hospital
- older people denied surgery due to age and not ability
- dementia affects 700,000 older people
media representation of the elderly
- negative portrayal of older people
- seen as grumpy, a burden and drain of resources
- due to longevity of life and greater dependency ratio
government policies for the elderly
- triple lock guarantee so state pension is uprated by which is higher, earnings, prices or 2.5%
- key areas of support like free eye tests and prescriptions
- cold weather payments have been increased
age
chronological divisons in years
biological age
physical state of the body
life course stratification
birth, puberty, adulthood, old age, death