American Cultures Ethnography Project: The Elderly

American Cultures Ethnography Project: The Elderly
Introduction:
Throughout my career as a paramedic, I have encountered countless different cultures and sub-cultures. However, those I have encountered most would include the elderly by a huge margin. Due to their age, they routinely must request assistant from emergency services because of falls, medical emergencies, or just assistance getting through a certain task; such as getting up the stairs to their home. “The Elderly” is a subjective term that refers to a broad age range of people spanning multiple generations. This paper will employ that same loose definition and reference examples from ages 65 and up; an age milestone that many refer to as Seniors. The reader will first get an in-depth look at the sub-generations included in this group to help gain a better understanding of who they are and where they came from. Further understanding of the elderly will then be explored through their forms of entertainment and pop-culture from past to present. This paper will then begin to focus on current life through examining the multitude of ways the elderly stay active and engaged. Most importantly, this paper will examine the multitude of problems and **** the elderly encounter as the aging process
It is important to distinguish between the two as each requires a different approach in terms of emergency care or in regards to the readers own encounters. While this paper discusses the two as being intertwined within the same culture, they could certainly be viewed and discussed as separate sub-cultures. It is also important to note that many Baby Boomers are the children of Traditionalist. This will **** the complications many seniors encounter, as discussed later, as these children are not only taking care of themselves as they enter their senior years, but their increasingly reliant