ageism
Ageism
Kristen Dorman
Ageism is the discrimination against an individual or group due to age. While ageism is a real problem, many people tend to ignore it because it is so often practiced, people don’t even realize it is happening. The forms of ageism range from the very obvious to the more discrete, almost unrecognizable discrimination. While ageism is evident in all age groups, it tends to be more dominant among the elderly and teenagers or young adults.
When most people envision an elderly person, their minds go to the iconic little old lady or man. They automatically think about them having psychological ailments such as dementia or Alzheimer’s. With this assumption comes many unfair prejudices in the work place or other areas of life. There have been several instances where individuals have been fired or denied employment due to the fact that they were deemed “too old” or “incompetent” due to their age. Such an event happened to Achim Beck, an investment banker from London. The 42 year old was fired form is job because his employers wanted a “younger” individual to do the job (Telegraph). Many of today’s employers are interested in the younger generation for employment because they are seen as an asset due to their knowledge in the ever-changing technologies such as social media. This puts the older generations at a disadvantage, especially since the age of retirement is rising more everyday.
Not only are the elderly discriminated against in the workforce, but also in the medical feild. When a young individual goes to the doctor with the complaints of pain or discomfort, doctors do everything they can to discover the problem. However, when an aged individual goes with the same complaints, they are often disregarded as general symptoms of the aging process. This can prevent a plethora of patients to be properly diagnosed with diseases or other medical conditions. The patients receiving these diagnoses are not helping themselves either. Most
Kristen Dorman
Ageism is the discrimination against an individual or group due to age. While ageism is a real problem, many people tend to ignore it because it is so often practiced, people don’t even realize it is happening. The forms of ageism range from the very obvious to the more discrete, almost unrecognizable discrimination. While ageism is evident in all age groups, it tends to be more dominant among the elderly and teenagers or young adults.
When most people envision an elderly person, their minds go to the iconic little old lady or man. They automatically think about them having psychological ailments such as dementia or Alzheimer’s. With this assumption comes many unfair prejudices in the work place or other areas of life. There have been several instances where individuals have been fired or denied employment due to the fact that they were deemed “too old” or “incompetent” due to their age. Such an event happened to Achim Beck, an investment banker from London. The 42 year old was fired form is job because his employers wanted a “younger” individual to do the job (Telegraph). Many of today’s employers are interested in the younger generation for employment because they are seen as an asset due to their knowledge in the ever-changing technologies such as social media. This puts the older generations at a disadvantage, especially since the age of retirement is rising more everyday.
Not only are the elderly discriminated against in the workforce, but also in the medical feild. When a young individual goes to the doctor with the complaints of pain or discomfort, doctors do everything they can to discover the problem. However, when an aged individual goes with the same complaints, they are often disregarded as general symptoms of the aging process. This can prevent a plethora of patients to be properly diagnosed with diseases or other medical conditions. The patients receiving these diagnoses are not helping themselves either. Most
Bibliography: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/elderly-suffer-treatment-bias-due-to-medical-ageism http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/report/2013/06/05/65373/americas-10-million-unemployed-youth-spell-danger-for-future-economic-growth/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6906484/42-year-old-wins-age-discrimination-case.html