Positive And Negative Effects Of Ageism On The Elderly

Ageism is defined as prejudice or discrimination on the basis of someone’s age. Discrimination is the practice of unfairly treating a group of people differently from other groups of people. Additionally, people treat various age cohorts differently based on stereotypes; a stereotype is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. Ageism is prevalent in all aspects of life, from excluding young coworkers to firing older employees. Ageism negatively impacts society by placing people into stereotypical boxes rather than judging them based on merit. Although ageism affects both young and old cohorts, ultimately, the social constructs behind it can be detrimental to an elderly individual’s health.
Countless problems are associated with the negative self-perceptions linked with aging; negative stereotypes can have detrimental effects on one’s life expectancy. Elderly individuals exposed to positive aging stereotypes have noticeably better memory and balance while their counterparts who have been exposed to negative aging stereotypes have worse memories and increased feelings of worthlessness (Dittmann, 2003).
Even I inadvertently further ageist attitudes when I choose a younger looking employee when I go to Best Buys or the Apple store because I automatically assume that they know more about technology. Thought processes like this are the reason many technology companies and retailers won’t even consider hiring older adults. Not only do we, the customers, see them as less competent but hiring managers do as