CONSEQUENCES OF AGEISM

The Majority Rules: If many parts of society are exposed or conditioned to believe a negative aspect about a subject, the majority will blindly follow those negative views even those who are the target of the negative conditioning (Robinson, 1994). For instance, if an individual believes that they should look or act a certain way because they were conditioned to do so, they will follow that conformity. If all older people are expected to enter a nursing facility because an indication to older age is grey hair or baldness, and all of society believed this as well, the older individual would expect to enter a nursing facility because of thinning hair.

This is also true in any aspect of life in which we witness someone doing something out of the ordinary. It shocks society and allows rethinking about behavior.  The video below shows an older adult woman who is happy, healthy, and delivered twin babies. It is not her who is shocked, nor her physician, but rather her repulsed twenty-nine year old daughter .

 

Though unusual to society, these people are living their own lives and are all happy. Perhaps it would be different if the 91-year-old had dementia or Alzheimer’s, but she is a healthy and happy lady.