In addition to being a natural factor in societies, generational differences can also become a reason for discrimination known as ageism. We tell you what it is, and why it is important to identify and eradicate it.

“The State, Society and Family are jointly responsible for the way in which people age and for the quality of life in old age”[1]

The World Health Organization defines ageism – a concept derived from the Anglicism ageism and which has various translations such as oldism, ageism, chronologism and gerontophobia- as a stereotype, prejudice and discrimination towards people of certain ages due to the natural deterioration or impairment of their health. This has even been pointed out as the third form of discrimination, after racism and sexism[2]. 

In different studies it has been found that The main causes of this phenomenon are due to anxiety about aging and fear of death. (on a personal level), contact with a significant number of older people (on an interpersonal level) and the limited availability of resources for the maintenance of this population (on an institutional and cultural level).

A little bit of history

In primitive societies, old age was assumed to be a condition of full validity[3], which granted natural wisdom and experience to population groups, in addition to an institutional memory that allowed communities to adapt and survive. 

The transition to nomadism, in certain regions of the world, began to raise the “need” to abandon or set aside aged individuals with disabilities or motor impairment, due to the vulnerability they represented for herds or groups.

After a considerable increase in life expectancy in the world (in almost 30 years) since the Industrial Revolution, this age group began to be the target of increasing stereotypes in which they are characterized as fragile, sick, weak and unproductive people.Given the perpetuation of this situation, studies began to be carried out that evaluated phenomena such as ageism.

What consequences does this form of exclusion bring?

Maintaining discriminatory attitudes in society has marked consequences that range from affecting the health and vitality of the targeted population, to the stagnation of markets and the sustainability of industries, to the obstruction of development and urban planning, and even generating greater tension in the world's health and pension systems.

How to confront and avoid ageism?

The world shows trends to face this situation. The main thing is that the correct conception of aging, as an evolutionary process that we live permanently and is not specifically associated with an age, allows us to evolve towards a new view of the passage of time and, therefore, contributes to the reduction of this form of discrimination. Among these trends, the following stand out:

• Intergenerational collaboration: It refers to planning cities that are more coherent with diversity, willing to coexist from a multigenerational perspective. The advantages of association between older adults and young people are beginning to be highlighted in order to: live together, create projects, exchange knowledge, company and affection. In companies, there is a noticeable interest in creating positions that privilege experience, planning and historical argumentation.
• Active and participatory ageing: There is evidence of work to extend the productive life of people, establishing active-participatory aging, with spaces and opportunities for health, safety and activism to make visible the needs for protection and participation required by the elderly population.
• Time of rebirth: associated with prolonged life expectancy, It refers to a slowdown in life cycles, to the “possibility” and to the social acceptance of developing life projects at different stages: “What was done at age 20 is now considered acceptable at age 40.”
• Planned dependency: It refers to early preparation for old age, with habits that help prevent accelerated deterioration, and financial planning with the proper support of the State and various institutions. It promotes the idea that activity should take precedence over rest when reaching old age. 

The concepts of aging and old age have been expressed in different ways over time, based on historical, social and cultural constructions. Today, new manifestations are evident in the world that address this concept with an alternative focus: It is no longer a stage in which life is expected to end, but rather a resurgence based on intergenerational contributions.

Fonts

• [1] Ministry of Social Protection. National Policy on Aging and Old Age. 2007 P 4
• [2] Butler, R. A foreword. Journal of Social Issues, pp. 8-11. 1980 
• [3] 1 LW Simmons, The Role of the Aged in Primitive Society (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1945).