Demographics Flashcards
Demographics
• Sociology looks at different age cohorts (groups), specifically at age groups/generations, because they all live through the same events in certain time.
o Always-On Generation: 2004+ - debated
o Generation Z – 1995-2003 (acronym: The kids who love their Sony xperia Z phones)
o Millennials – 1980s-2000s (Generation Y) (acronym: Dats us!)
o Generation X – 1965 – 1980 (The 70s loved Drugs (Xstacy))
o Baby boomers: 1946-1964 is large population in US, now up to 60s. Grew up in post-WWII periods, currently leaving work force. Opening jobs for younger people also become reliant on families for support depending on financial status (10% of elderly live below poverty) (Acronym: Your dad was a baby too!! This one’s common sense!)
o Silent generation – 1925-1945 older than baby boomers born during Great Depression (Acronym: Your silent grandfather)
o GI (Greatest) generation – 1901-1924 - oldest people alive today. Born first quarter of the 20th century (Acronym: Your great grand father)
life expectancy
• Because of new advancements in medical technology people live longer,
o Estimated by 2025 that 1/4th of population will be >65 y/o
o Currently, only 13.5% ?>65
o 65 is age when people retire (no longer contribute to the workforce).
dependency ratio
an age-based measurement takes people <14 and >65 who are not in the labour force, and compares that to # of people who are (15-64)
o Higher the ratio, more dependent people there are.
o Living longer = older residents can contribute to workforce for longer time
role of the elderly in society
As we become older our body breaks down. We begin to get chronic illnesses and health problems (arthritis, dementia, hearing/visual impairments decrease quality of life).
o Older people are 5x more likely to use health services than younger people
age affects what kind of healthcare elderly can get– discrimination on age/inequality in healthcare.
People living longer means improved global health.
o Old age people will need healthcare professionals who specialize in old-age care and prevention of old-age diseases. They also need services like long-term care and age-friendly services.
o Society to readjust expectations of old age. Elderly people are just as important to society/community as younger people. With correct encouragement, can still contribute to cultural, social, economical well-being of society (even after leaving workforce)
o As people age, they are affected by the environment, but the environment is also effected by the elderly.
• Life Course Theory
• Life Course Theory – aging is a social, psychological, and biological process that begins from time you born till time you die. a holistic perspective that calls attention to developmental processes and other experiences across a person’s life
o Biological process change as people live longer = affect social process.
o Age-based expectations no longer apply as they used to as people live longer. (ex. 80 year old on ski slope or getting a master’s degree).
o “life course approach refers to a research perspective that considers how experiences from earlier in life affect outcomes later in life.”
• Age Stratification Theory
• Age Stratification Theory – suggests age is way of regulating behavior of a generation
• Activity Theory
• Activity Theory - looks at how older generation looks at themselves. Certain activities or jobs lost, those social interactions need to be replaced so elderly can be engaged and maintain moral/well-being
• Disengagement Theory
• Disengagement Theory – older adults and society separate, assumes they become more self-absorbed as they age. Separation allows for self-reflection. But considers elderly people still involved in society as not adjusting well, which is debatable.
• Continuity Theory
• Continuity Theory - people try to maintain same basic structure throughout their lives overtime. As they age people make decisions that preserve that structure and use it to adapt to external changes and internal changes of aging.
o Older generations continue to age and adapt and society has to adapt with them.
• With more older people we need more healthcare professionals and support services, but we also have a great social/cultural/economic resource is available to us.
• Race
• Race – a socially defined category based on physical differences between groups of people.
o
Racial formation theory
Racial formation theory looks at social/economic/political forces that result in racially constructed identities.
Sometimes differences are real, but sometimes only defined by history.
• Ex. In 1800 in US, people would be considered black even if they appeared white if they had a black ancestor.
• All humans 99.9% identical – There is no genetic basis for race. But it is important on a social level.
o In the US race is defined by skin color but hair color is irrelevant. Latin America race category in the US can be broken down to 5-6 races in SA.
Racial differences can cause drastic events, like genocide or population transfer (where group is forcefully moved from territory), intercolonialism (minorities group is segregated and exploited), and assimilation (where minority group is absorbed into the majority).
o Statistically, many differences between racial and ethnic groups in healthcare, education, wealth, income, birth rates, life expectancy, family etc.
Many Americans can’t support healthcare which affects lifespan.
Minorities tend to have shorter lifespan because: limited access to healthcare, lower-income jobs (more danger in workplace), higher toxin levels in environment, and personal behaviors (drinking/poor diet)
• Ethnicity
• Ethnicity is also socially defined, not defined by physical characteristics like race, but these groups are defined by shared language, religion, nationality, history, of some other cultural factor. Less statistically defined than racial groups and definitions can change over time.
o An ethnic minority can be absorbed into majority after 1-2 generations. A minority is a group that makes up less than half the total population and is treated differently due to some characteristic.
Ex. In 1900s, native born Americans did not consider Irish, Italian, or Jewish immigrants to be white. Interestingly, children of these immigrants were considered white because they were culturally similar and their skin color was used to determine their ethnic identity
Discrimination:
Discrimination: Unjust treatment of a category of people because they belong to the category
Discrimination often results from prejudice.
Prejudice:
Prejudice: Preconceived opinion that isn’t based on reason or experience.
stereotype
stereotype – consider everyone in a group as identical. We can only look at statistical values which serve as guidelines/trends as we study the population.
• There are statistical differences between different races and different ethnicities
• Racial differences can cause drastic events, like genocide or population transfer (where group is forcefully moved from territory), intercolonialism (minorities group is segregated and exploited), and assimilation (where minority group is absorbed into the majority).
