Forever young america's obsession with never growing old answers

SOC101h: Week 9 Assignment Page 2

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Worksheet: Cultural Views on Aging

Growing older is the natural progression of living organisms. Modern culture views signs of aging as a negative side effect of living. It is often viewed as something that should be reversed or slowed down. In 2011, the Associated Press reported that the baby boomer generation spent approximately $80 billion dollars on anti-aging products and speculated that figure to balloon to $114 billion by 2015. Why does the culture in the United States place such a high value on staying young? What stigmas do elderly people face? How does popular culture stereotype the elderly? Are the stereotypes correct?

For this assignment, you will explain your ideas on what it means to age in the cultural landscape of the United States.

Assignment Details:

Perform the following tasks:

· Complete the reading assignment and the interactive lesson before attempting this assignment.

· Research the topic on cultural views of aging by:

· Using Google to search a few keywords used to describe elderly people and review what topics are on the list.

· Reviewing magazines and television commercials and note how you see elderly people portrayed.

· To complete this assignment:

· Review the Written Assignment Rubric for a review of writing expectations.

· Use your research and the worksheet on page 2 to respond to the following questions:

· Your response to the questions should be at least 350 words in length.

· Use Safe Assign to check your written draft against unintended plagiarism.

· Ensure that your responses are free of spelling and grammatical errors.

· Use the proper naming convention when saving your assignment:

· SOC101h_wk9_assn_jsmith_mmddyyy

· Submit your assignment for grading.

Grading:

Gradable items in the assignment

Points Possible

Points Earned

Describe your views on a culture that wants to remain young.

5

Describe the stigmas facing the elderly.

10

Describe stereotypes of elderly in popular culture.

10

Explain what it means to age in the U.S.A and provide an example.

10

Response adheres to writing conventions.

5

Total Points

40

Assignment Worksheet:

· Respond to the questions, using at least 350 words (total for both responses).

· Ensure that your responses are free of spelling and grammatical errors.

Questions:

1. Why does the culture in the United States place such a high value on staying young?

The current American’s culture is obsessed with the look and image of staying young, unlike the old culture that considered growing old as more important since it associated old age with experience and wisdom (Archer M.D, 2013). Considering the rapid growth of innovations being developed in the fast-paced country, people are afraid of becoming old as they are afraid of becoming slow in conducting things since old people are considered to be slow in their ways of doing things (Gilleard, 2017). The fact that vision and hearing naturally change as one continues to age, people are more inclined to staying young rather than growing old. Since the process of growing old can be slowed with dietary life choices as well as physical exercise to inhibit people getting slow as they age, the culture in the United States ends up placing a high value on staying young.

2. What stigmas do elderly people face?

The elderly are often faced with the stigma of being weak and frail, people who easily get dementia and forget things. Old people are often regarded to be inferior as they are not as smart as the younger population given that they are not actively involved in the technological innovations and social media (Archer M.D, 2013). In addition, old people are slower when it comes to learning new things, always sick and are not fast in doing things.

3. How does popular culture stereotype the elderly? Are the stereotypes correct?

The above-named stigmas act as stereotypes which are completely wrong. There exist many old people who effectively work in new innovations better than the younger population. Most of the elderly lead extraordinary lives and actively participate in the new technologies and social media. They are active drivers and many of them work on IPads although they deserve a break to slow down. Most of the elderly people grew up when most or all of the activities were conducted manually but they ended up being successful being in the society. They would love to discuss the key drivers that led to such success despite the great depressions and people should listen to them. We should learn from them on how they lead lives and ask how they overcame numerous adversities, rather than looking at them with sad eyes.

4. What does it mean to age in the cultural landscape of the United States? Give one example of a culture that has a different view.

In the United States, getting old is linked with lack of purpose and focus. Although these are not the views of everybody, with the advancing technology where everyone is becoming an expert by consulting the internet, people no longer consider the aged for advice or help (Gruber, 2015). Cultures with no written history seek advice and help from the elderly for instance the native Americans.

References

Archer M.D, D. (2013, October 2). Forever Young: America's Obsession With Never Growing Old. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/reading-between-the-headlines/201310/forever-young-americas-obsession-never-growing-old

Gilleard, C. (2017). Growing Older, Growing Sicker? Old Age in Nineteenth-Century Ireland, 77-95. doi:10.1057/978-1-137-58541-7_5

Gruber, K. (2015). Disparities in cancer mortality for elderly poor in the USA. The Lancet Oncology, 16(9), e431. doi:10.1016/s1470-2045(15)00214-4