Unfortunately, this largely casts those who have passed retirement age as having little economic relevance and, by consequence, as having little cultural or social relevance.
Impact of Individual Differences:
This suggests that the United States has a permeating cultural ageism. Ageism is a prejudicial mode of thinking that presumes the elderly have little value to offer those around them. This is a disposition that leads to the abhorrent conditions in which many of our aging citizens must live out their final days. Indeed, there are few factors in one's individual aging experience that are more determinant than one's economic status. For those with fewer financial resources to address growing medical needs, for those who lack the funds to secure comfortable living conditions or for those who live in remote, rural or impoverished areas with little access to healthcare facilities, the decline of aging is almost certain to be intensified in speed and severity.
So too can social isolation precipitate a faster process of aging. For those who lack family, friends or a retirement community which can provide routine, activity and emotional support, a feeling of isolation can lead to depression and other emotional disturbance. Such disturbance may also accelerate the process of aging...
According to Free, women live signficanty longer than men. Indeed, Free reports that "the sex differential for longevity at birth in contemporary American society is between seven and eight years. This can be contrasted with that in this country at the beginning of the 20th century, when the nation was largely undeveloped, and in developing nations today, with expected longevity at birth being almost equal between the sexes in both circumstances." (Free, p. 75)
This denotes that the process of aging occurs on a faster and shorter scale for American men than it does for American women.
Conclusion:
Our discussion demonstrates that perhaps above all else, the process of aging, the speed at which it occurs and the emotional, physical and psychological consequences of the process are significantly effected by contextualizing cultures and the manner in which aging is treated there within.
Works Cited:
Free, M.M. (2002). The Aging of America: Culture, Stress, and Sex. Baylor University Medical Center, 15(1), 74-76.
