Attitude Towards Different Age Groups - Essay Example

Attitude Towards Different Age Groups Attitude is considerably a feeling or expression of like or dislike, favor or hatred towards a person, a location, or an object. People in different cultures have varying attitudes towards different age groups. Some treat the older harshly and some offer at most respect to the old, some look down upon the young and inexperienced but some treasure them as the future generation. Culture plays a crucial role in shaping how people treat others who belong to different age categories. Culture shapes their values, perceptions, behaviors, prejudice, and attitude when interacting with others. This essay will discuss people's attitudes when treating those in different ages in different cultures (Baumeister et al 33). Attitude towards the old people In most European Countries, most young people treat the old harshly. Young people assume that older people are more prone to accidents, slow learners, slow thinkers, and have a rapid physical deterioration. This is an unfair assumption since statistics from the world health organization, show that road traffic deaths involving young people under the age of 25 years are more compared to those involving the older people. In fact, one out of three road accidents involve the younger people. It is unfair for the younger people to assume that the older are slow learners and slow thinkers, since there is no evidence to show that a person’s intellect decreases, as one grows older. There is also an assumption among the young people in Europe that older people are always sick. They believe the common myth that diseases are synonymous with aging, which is false since there are many older people who are have perfect health and do not look frail or old (Diller 47). Outright prejudice and discrimination towards the old is not only in Europe. In many developed Western countries, the majority treat the youth as the backbone of the future. This has created the image that the old no longer hold their place in society. There is brainwashing of the media, to view the old as people who should not serve anymore. This has in turn instilled a negative public image towards the old. Most professions exclude the old and leave them out in essential programs that could benefit them. It is a general view among most doctors that older people are too late for preventive care. This has led to late response to medical conditions in older people. Most receive inferior medical care particularly when facing minor medical problems such as loss of teeth; hear loss, loss of vision among others. The doctors overlook such problems and accept the conditions as a normal part of aging, while labeling the old people as geriatric (Fien 32). In most western countries, most people take their old family members to health care homes far away from their own homes. They only visit them occasionally, to check on them. Most believe that this is one way of reducing economic costs during these hard economic times in the modern days. The old feel neglected, and most who live in such homes end up getting depressed and deteriorate in health` due to abandonment by their families. There is a prejudice that older people are under productive and cannot contribute significantly to economic growth. Most employers have this view about the older people, and have put up strict rules that restrict employment of people in a certain age group. In fact, most companies in the world employ the young and energetic people and give them higher positions despite the lack of experience. The truth is that, the old people with experience in such positions can contribute more and use their experience to take such a company to the next level. Most professions in the world consider young people, because they view older people as slow thinkers, slow learners, and weak in physical strength (Rathus 56) Despite the prejudice and discrimination existing in some countries or communities regarding old people, some communities’ in different countries treat the old with respect and care. In the United States, the African Americans accord the old at most respect and regard them as next to God. They believe that they owe a debt to the old people for bringing them to the world, parenting them, educating them, guiding them, and standing with them during hardships. The whites on the other hand have mixed attitudes towards the old people. While some live, with their old relatives and accord, they respect and care, some prefer to take the old to homes where they can be cared (Resnick 63) The Hispanics in the United States and Mexico have a rich culture that accords the old some respect. A young person should honor the old and in fact, in any activity that takes place in their setting, the old people come first before the young. For example, when it is time to serve food, the old men serve themselves first, followed by the older women then the young people. This also exists among the Native Americans. The Natives Americans who still hold and practice their culture, believe that the old are wise, powerful and can connect with the ancestors. In fact, the chiefs and elders are in most cases old people. In times of trouble, the community seeks for advice from the old because of the perception that they are wise (Samovar et al. 45) Like the Native Americans, people in Africa treat their old folk’s right. There is a perception that the old people had played their roles right in ensuring that the young have a place in the present society. The young people in turn treat them right and take care of them. It is like a payback time for what they received from the old people. There is a belief that an old person can curse or bless a young person. This motivates the young people to respect the old in expectation of blessings. However, not all people treat the aged in the right way. Those who live in cities have adopted city life and left their old parents and relatives in the rural areas where they live in poverty (Wiener 67) Most chiefs, clan elders, and village elders are older people. The community chooses such people to be elders because they believe that they have lived for long enough to gather experience required in leading and giving direction to the people. In some communities, the old elders have powers to banish people from the society and send them away for a certain period, as a means of punishment. The Maasai people of Kenya regard the old as someone who is next to the gods. They believe that since the old have lived for a longer period than they have, they have gathered power to connect with the gods. In times of need, they seek the advice of these old men and request them to intercede for them in prayers. Similar practices happen among the people of Khoisan in Southern Africa. In most African tribes and communities, it is a mandatory for a person to respect his or her elder, no matter the age difference. A person can receive punishment from someone who is two years older, when they go wrong (Rathus 25) Just like in Africa, regardless of the age difference, people in Asian countries accord much respect to older people. In India and mid-Asian countries like Indonesia, Burma, and Thailand, old people receive adequate support and respect. They regard them as a reservoir of wisdom. They adjust their behaviors in respect, when interacting with the seniors. In some countries like Japan and South and North Korea, the codes of conduct when relating with the seniors are so strict. In fact, in some cases people bow down in respect and talk politely when addressing their seniors (Diller 36). Attitude towards the Young In most countries, the society regards the young people as the future of those respective countries. Young people receive plenty of opportunities in life and get a lot of mentoring form the old. In most western countries, young people have rights that they use to demand their needs in their society. Most job opportunities go to young men because they have the energy and there is a belief that they are quick learners and thinkers who can shape the future of a country, community or a company. They are a number one priority when it comes to health and security. A young man in a hospital is likely to get far much better medical care than an old man would. This is because the health sectors regard the old as geriatric who should expect certain health conditions in old age and the young as the future of the nation who should better require medical care (Sokolovsky 27) In most eastern countries like Japan and Korea and developing countries in Africa and Asia, the society expects the young to respect the old and not vice versa. The reverse is true of what happens in Western countries. Job market favors those who are old since they believe that they possess the much-needed experience to move a company or a country to the next level. Most leaders in parliaments and legislative houses are old people, with a minority of young people. In Africa and some countries in Asia like Japan, the young receive punishment if they do not address the old with respect. The young pass out as inexperienced, naive and people whom require a lot of guidance to survive in life. In some countries, young people only serve in physical jobs such as military, police, and industrial jobs among others. The old hold some jobs like government jobs, presidency, university lectures and Medicine and research. The society perceives young people as lacking in experience to handle such jobs (Sokolovsky 29). In conclusion, this essay has managed to discuss people's attitudes when treating those in different ages in different cultures. It has discussed the attitudes of people from different corners of the earth. Culture plays a crucial role in shaping how people treat others who belong to different age categories. Culture shapes their values, perceptions, behaviors, prejudice, and attitude when interacting with others. In most Western countries, there is prejudice and discrimination towards the old people and they end up missing out in most programs. There is a better attitude towards the young than it is for the old, in the Western society. In Africa and Asian countries, there is a better attitude towards the old people and seniors in the society compared to the young. Work Cited Baumeister, Roy F, and Brad J. Bushman. Social Psychology and Human Nature. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. Diller, Jerry V. Cultural Diversity: A Primer for the Human Services. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole, 2011. Print. Fien, John. Young People and the Environment: An Asia Pacific Perspective. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic, 2002. Print. Rathus, Spencer A. Psych. Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth, 2012. Print. Resnick, Barbara. Resilience in Aging: Concepts, Research, and Outcomes. New York: Springer, 2010. Print. Samovar, Larry A, Richard E. Porter, Edwin R. McDaniel, and Carolyn S. Roy. Communication between Cultures. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. Sokolovsky, Jay. The Cultural Context of Aging: Worldwide Perspectives. Westport, Conn: Praeger Publishers, 2008. Print. Wiener, Richard L. Disability and Aging Discrimination: Perspectives in Law and Psychology. New York: Springer, 2010. Print. Read More