What Intergenerational Communication and Aging Means - Essay Example

Aging and the Elderly: New Mindset, Behaviors, and Communication and Relationship Goals December 16, Aging and the Elderly: New Mindset, Behaviors, and Communication and Relationship Goals I have changed from seeing the elderly from the lens of ageist stereotypes to one who sees them as they are- human beings who are as complex and as worthy of respect and dignity as any other younger population. I am guilty of seeing the elderly through common stereotypes, including the grandmotherly (i.e. helpful and serene) and severely impaired (i.e. despondent and physically and emotionally incompetent) stereotypes. I have developed this mindset because of media and social portrayals of the elderly and aging as the worst stage of human life. Through this course and analyzing related materials, I learned the importance of changing mindsets and communication and relationship goals, so that I can treat and interact with the elderly with respect and recognize and respond to their needs for autonomy and social support, and so that I can pursue a model for successful aging that balances physical and psychological needs and aspirations. Through Comm 119 lectures and various other reading materials, as well as my analysis of my own interactions with the elderly, I realized that social stereotypes about aging and the elderly contribute to the self-fulfilling prophesy of these ageist stereotypes. Cuddy and Fiske (2002) described the various stereotypes of older people that I also practiced in the past, including the grandmotherly and severely impaired stereotypes. I am quite ashamed that I thought that older adults are like babies by focusing on their childish behavior, such as being hard-headed when instructing them to follow proper nutrition practices. I realize now that they are childish (if they are) because of how society treats them. In one of our lectures, the Dallas Morning News (2002) reported that people’s attitudes, and not aging per se, present obstacles to feeling fulfilled during old age (as cited in Giles, 2014a). I agree because I also had the mindset that the elderly, though not all, are the ones making health and social problems by being aggressive in opposing lifestyle or emotional and attitudinal changes that can improve health and social conditions. I would say: “They can be so hard-headed because they are already old.” By saying this, I frame aging in terms of blaming older people of their health and social issues and aging as the worst phase of mental and psychological development. This kind of framing under-analyzes the needs and goals of the elderly and perpetuates ageism. Besides personal ageist stereotypes, I learned about social institutions that promote ageism and that I must be more aware of them to prevent framing my communication according to these stereotypes. In one of the lectures, an article from Prevention has the article “Old Age isn’t Natural” (as cited in Giles, 2014b). This article reveals how the society sees aging as something unnatural and must be prevented. It opposes a more enriching analysis of aging that believes that it is a natural process that people must prepare for physically and psychologically through having positive outlooks toward aging and the elderly. Another example of ageism is the next image to this article that shows a couple in their senior years, where they are physically and emotionally distant from one another, and they both look physically unfit and miserable through their stooped position and sad eyes. This image is popular in the media that shows that aging is the loss of all competencies that make the youth and middle age better in comparison. Instead of using the same ageist stereotypes, I am more aware of avoiding them. I should start with abolishing ageist images in my mindset and creating positive ideas of aging and the elderly. In addressing social origins of ageism, I have come to learn that older people do not like others to perceive and treat them as children, who are incompetent and ignorant, but as human beings who want and deserve respect and autonomy. Some older people are already too painfully aware of their loss of social status and self-esteem as the Baker study and Robins et al. (2002) study showed respectively in our previous lectures (as cited in Giles, 2014a). The elderly are aware of these poor self-images, however, mainly because society makes them feel and think this way. Older people, however, are not children, and society must not see them as so. Instead, I and society must see them as equal human beings who deserve to be treated with respect and to have an autonomous life. To respect them, I will remove ageist stereotypes. To support their need for autonomy, I will not assume what they want, but use accommodative language to help them determine their health needs, means, and goals. I will stop thinking that I know better because I am younger, and instead, I will think that the elderly know better because they are independent decision-makers. Apart from changing my mindset regarding how I see aging and the elderly, the principles that I would like to cultivate in living my life in relation to communication and aging are accepting that the older stage of the human life span is just as important as other earlier stages, and I should respect and support the elderly’s social and medical needs and goals. Past lectures indicated that the society malign the elderly and aging by emphasizing what they lose because of physical and psychological changes (Giles, 2014a). The society forgets what the elderly can do better because they are older. I want to see the elderly as important contributors to society because aging is not inferior to other lifespan ages. The elderly should have the same self-esteem and social status where they feel the same level of dignity and have means to improve their self-efficacy. Moreover, I should support the social and medical needs of the elderly in my personal and professional life. Professionally, I intend to become a valid social support for the elderly by framing my communication with them in a positive approach. I will no longer treat them as babies who must be cuddled or restrained, but as human beings who can make autonomous decisions. I will also be open to hearing their stories and concerns because they have a right to have a voice in their attainment of their medical needs. In addition, in my personal life, I want to be a better communicator to my parents and older friends, relatives, and strangers. Sometimes, I disrespect my parents by thinking that they are too old to understand me and to give useful advice. In reality, I am too young to not know that I can also learn from their insight and hindsight. Even if I disagree with my parents, I should respect their viewpoints and find ways of integrating their insight to my personal life. Moreover, I want to be a better communicator with other elderly people. I will listen more to what they are saying and how they are saying it and to accommodate their needs as part of their life stage, gender, race, religion, culture, and other salient factors of their identity. I must be the kind of person and medical professional whom I would like to be with when I am also older. My final point is on successful aging that entails having a fit body and mindset that can be implemented through lifestyle and ideological changes which properly understand and respond to aging and the elderly. In our lectures, the transactional model of successful aging shows the interactions among physical health, psychological health, and quality of communication (Giles, 2014a). I want to have a fit body by making lifestyle changes right now. For instance, I love fried food and I have to cut back on that to ensure that I will not develop cardiovascular diseases and obesity when I am older. Besides physical health, I must also aspire for psychological health. Right now, I am in the difficult process of changing my mindset about aging. It is difficult to frame aging positively when society sees as a dreadful stage. Nonetheless, I must focus on nurturing positive concepts of aging, so that when I have grown older, I will reflect these concepts in my life. Furthermore, I must also practice more accommodative language, so that I can continue using it when I am older. In the future, I will face people with ageist beliefs. I want to show communication changes that can make them consider, if not change, their poor perceptions of aging and the elderly. Physical health, psychological health, and quality of communication are three important aspects in successfully aging. The end of ageism begins with me. I will abolish all ageist assumptions and begin treating the elderly as autonomous individuals. My principles of communication encourage seeing aging as natural and autonomous and providing social and medical support through a non-ageist mindset. Furthermore, my idea of successful aging challenges ageist stereotypes and it empowers me as a member of the future elderly. Aging is not the end of human development that must be dreaded. It is part of the beautiful process of living that I will prepare for and cherish once there. References Cuddy, A.J.C., & Fiske, S.T. (2002). Doddering but dear: Process, content, and function in stereotyping of older adults. In T.D. Nelson, Ageism: Stereotyping and prejudice against older persons (pp. 3-26). Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Giles, H. (2014a, October 2). Week 1: Exercise and text. Giles, H. (2014, October 14). Week 3: Triggering and constructing age identities. Read More