Manifestation of ageism

Manifestation of Ageism

Ageism can be manifested in many different forms.  As systemic level, laws and policies ma be made without regard to the needs of older adults, or service cuts may have a disproportionate impact on older adults.  Ageism may take the form of “granny bashing” in the popular press (blaming many of society’s current economic worries  on older adults) it can be reflected in media where older adults are portrayed as uniformly well of group who are unconcerned about the needs of others.

Ageism may be more commonplace in economic and political literature where demographic shifts in the population are characterized as portending a future health crisis or ‘age wars’ with young and old fighting over their share of social and health services. Ageism and age discrimination are based on social fears, and social response expresses those fears.

It has been suggested that there can be both internalized and externalized ageism, Internalized ageism refers to the extent to which older adults take on social norms that devalue and marginalize older persons.  They may do this at an individual level by acting in ways that reinforces the youth norm – battling the obvious and visible markers of aging such as grey hair or wrinkles.  Internalized ageism may also be manifested by denial of any commonality with other in a cohort, such as familiar objection of an eight-year old woman or man who vehemently does not want to be associated with “all those old people”