Part 2. Older People’s Perceptions.

When do people become old?

Is it related to a number of years or to other traits? An Australian study asked people aged between 65 and 89 years of age, about their perceptions of age and found that they thought of oldness as a state of being rather than a particular number of years. A person thinks they or someone else is old if they are showing certain negative characteristics. Oldness was described as:

“… not trying, withdrawn, isolated, irritating, self-oriented, living outside the mainstream, unattractive, uninteresting, frail, senile, silly, over the hill, narrow-minded, a burden, lonely, vulnerable, dowdy, and unproductive”
Minichieilo, V., J. Browne, and H. Kendig, Perceptions and consequences of ageism: views of older people. Ageing & Society, 2000.

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Most of these characteristics could apply to a person of any age. Older people from the community believe that myths of aging are generalizations and can apply to any age group. Older people from the Indigenous community believe that everyone is an individual and develops differently. Personally I  found the same perceptions exist in Asian countries.

Men seem to carry age better than women, but old age begins earlier because of their reduced life expectancy. People from culturally and linguistically diverse communities say that cultural background makes an enormous difference. Some people are ‘old’ at 40, while others are energetic and active at 80.

There is no way to stop the decline of the physical systems of the body that begins in early adulthood, but the changes are so gradual that people adjust to them over their lifespan. Research has found that those people who understand the physical, social and psychological changes that occur with aging are likely to have high levels of life satisfaction. Importantly, older people do not expect to have the same level of physical fitness as in younger years but can still feel satisfied about their health.

Satisfaction with life is something that people can experience regardless of their health status and is a characteristic that tends to apply equally to all age groups with slight increases for older people. An interesting finding is that widows, mainly older women, tend to experience higher than average well being in spite of lower than normal health satisfaction.
The Triple A (Australian Active Aging) survey of people aged 50 years and older found that 80 per cent reported being happy and in good health. They had positive social relationships and were actively engaged with others and the community. Around 60 per cent were involved in a group activity of some kind, and were interested in using their abilities and skills to help others.
“Being active keeps you feeling young. Learning something new gives meaning to the day. Mentoring younger people is fulfilling. Seeing others successful and achieving their goals is my aim in life”
Triple A Survey respondent cited in Dimensions
A sense of optimism – feeling that life is ‘getting better’ – can continue to age 75 years and beyond, and it is thought that positive feelings can reduce a person’s susceptibility to accidents and disease and therefore increase longevity. Some older people do seem to accept negative stereotypes, yet they can improve their chances of keeping their self esteem well into late old age if they avoid blaming their difficulties simply on old age. Many older people challenge the pessimistic view of aging:

“If we want a healthier and less stereotypical old age, then we need to stop seeing age as the enemy and start taking better care of ourselves while demanding that the media grows up from their perpetual adolescence”
Corbin, D.E., Health and Sexual Media Content, in Mass Media, on Aging Population, and the Baby Boomers, M.L. Hill and J.H. Lipschultz, Editors. 2005, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Marwah, New Jersey.

Personality is something that does remain stable throughout life, and we can expect older people’s interests, values and opinions to remain consistent, even though their life directions may change. Genuine respect for older people means  seeing them as they really are’, in fact, in terms of personality, ‘they are not much different from any other adults’.
“… in clinging to stereotypes, we overlook the advantages of having larger numbers than ever before of older people rich in skills and life experience that they can, and do, contribute not only to the economy but also to their families and communities”
Welcome Trust, Ageing: Can We Stop the Clock? WelcomeFocus, 2006.

“… stereotypes are useful for camouflaging the social arrangements which we impose upon the aged members of our society. As the unspoken assumptions upon which ‘scientific’ theories of aging are constructed, they become doHazan, H., The cultural trap: The language of images, in Ageing and Everyday Life, J.F. Gubrium and J.A. Holstein, Editors. 2000, Blackwell: Maiden, Massachusetts.ubly dangerous, being mindfully or inadvertently employed to determine the fate of fellow human beings”

Older people report seeing some changes for the better in media depictions of ageing, and while this is very encouraging, some myths and misinformation about older people still persist in the wider community.
The following pages look at commonly held negative myths about ageing and older people, and the positive realities of ageing drawn from recent studies and surveys.