It has long been debated whether the longer life span granted by the advanced technology and medic care system that came with the industry revolution is a triumph of humanity or instead, a tragedy. A number of people suggested that a longer life span has always been the wildest dream of mankind and now it’s being achieved to some extent by our advanced science and technology. Others argued that, an increasing amount of older population due to a longer life span proved to be a huge burden of the society as well as themselves.
However, as far as I’m concerned, the key to the debate whether this prolonged life span should be considered a triumph or a tragedy does not lie in the life span itself, but rather, its quality.
Since the ancient times of human civilization, mankind has always been praying for the grant of a longer life span. Even the emperors with the most wisdom would spend huge amount of time and resources trying to decipher the secret of immortality. In the famous Greek myth, when Goddess Eos asked Zeus to grant the great warrior Tithonus, her mortal lover, the gift of immortality, she forgot to ask for health and send up seeing her once pride, powerful, healthy lover getting older and sicker. His body and mind was falling apart but he could never die.
Like Eos, when humanity is doing its utmost in seeking a longer life span, a comparatively less emphasis is exerted to its quality. In eastern Asian countries where traditional agricultural civilizations are falling apart with its family based senior caring system, millions of poor disabled elder people are suffering in the cheap and tousy nursing homes, abused from time to time by the ill-paid and trained caring workers; In the more developed western world, dying senior...
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...e, these people in their 60s or even 70s could share and contribute either for payment or as volunteers. By doing so, their later life would be much more meaningful and productive.
Whether aging is a triumph or a tragedy in the future? The choice is still placed in the hands of each individual as well as our society as a whole. If we really put more resources and emphasis on the improvement of the life quality of senior people instead of simply prolonging their life spans, everyone’s later lives would be beautiful and promising.
Everyone is going to get old in the end. I don’t want to see that when that day comes to ourselves, we would need to worry about things like suffering and dignity. I wish that our society, while getting more mature and placing more effort in the life quality of last days, would be a favorable place for us to get old in the near future.
...and multidisciplinary approach to set up policies, programmes and activities relating to areas such as housing education, transport, taxation, and income security that will improve the quality of life of the ageing population and promote healthy aging. This would require coordination and linkage between policy planners, administrators, service deliverers, and the research community; between individuals and groups of older adults. Planning, development, delivery, and evaluation of services and activities provided will need the availability of strong data bases and relevant research. Importantly, the elderly must remain integrated in society and themselves must have a say in the formulation and implementation of policies that directly affect their well-being, while sharing their knowledge, skills and wisdom with society, and in particular the younger generation.
There are many environmental influences as well as human behaviors that contribute to one’s expected life span. Health and lifestyle are two major factors that play a role in determining what life would be like during the senior years of life. There are many advantages to having a strong social support network that consists of caregivers paid and unpaid. Seniors with this tend to live longer, remain independent and stay active in their later years. Citizens in today’s society are living longer due to technology, medications and an overall healthier lifestyle. Many reach the age of 100 but the maximum human life span is 120 years old. One’s personal data, career choices, environmental influences and amount of active interactions will determine how those of the older population will experience the aging process.
Bookman and Kimbrel acknowledge the gap between financial status as well as culture and race, they stated, “.because elders are widely diverse by race and socioeconomic status, their families attach differing cultural meanings to care and have widely different resources with which to accomplish their care goals” (2011). Thus, creating the large gap seen in nursing home facilities. Specifically, cultures like the Chinese maintain traditions like filial piety, in which the adult children must care for their elderly parent (Li & Buechel, 2007). This type of culture defines the line between those who view nursing homes as ideal and those who prefer a separate form of older adult care.
During the Industrial Revolution of the Victorian Era, life expectancy was so low due to the lack of sanitation, working conditions, and less medical knowledge that we have now. At the time, the average age people were dying was at 35 years old (Lambert). The age, however, varied depending on where one lived. Normally, people who lived in cities died at a younger age than people who live in rural areas. The class that one was in also greatly impacted a person’s life span. It mainly impacted poor working-class communities, because of the poor conditions that came with being a member of that class (Wilde).
Analyzing late adulthood and the death of an individual as a culmination of the life span development process one must understand late adulthood consists of. This paper will give a brief overview of ageism and stereotypes associated with late adulthood. This will explain how health and wellness techniques in the late adulthood stages can mitigate the negative effects of aging. As people age the social views and experiences changes in relationships and interactions with people, as he or she nears the end of life. When closely approaching the end of life, a person has cultural and personal attitudes about death and dignity in late adulthood.
The life expectancy in Europe and America averaged about 30 to 40 years in 1800 A.D. However, through medical breakthroughs this expectancy has increased double -75 years- in the last two hundred years. One important reason of this increase is the discovering of what causes diseases. The development of medical science in different ways has yielded so many advances in recognizing the pathogenic factors of diseases and how to fight with them. This progress has resulted significant alteration in the factors of premature death due to diseases (Medical Health tests
In today’s society, what was once said to be true and taken as fact regarding older people is no longer the whole story. As Laslett states, “At all times before the middle of the twentieth century and all over the globe the greater part of human life potential has been wasted, by people dying before their allotted time was up.” (1989a), and to a great extent a lot
Aging and old age for a long time presented as dominated by negative traits and states such as sickness, depression and isolation. The aging process is not simply senescence most people over the age of 65 are not Senile, bedridden, isolated, or suicidal (Aldwin & Levenson, 1994). This change in perspective led the investigation of the other side of the coin. Ageing is seen as health, maturity and personal Royal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generatively, coping and acceptance of age-related constraints (Birren & Fisher, 1995). Psychological und...
Many countries globally are faced with unprecedented demographic changes from high mortality and fertility to low mortality and fertility, giving rise to an ageing population. Population ageing is profound and enduring, and has major consequences and implications for all facets of human life. With a larger proportion of older people, one of the major concerns is health and health care. The health of older persons generally declines with age and some illness are more likely to be associated with older people. One of such illness is dementia. As the life expectancies of the general population have dramatically increased since the turn of the century, more and more people are at risk of developing a dementia (National Institute of Aging, 2000).
Today, the world’s population is aging at a very fast pace and the United States is no exception to this demographic change. According to the U.S Census Bureau, senior citizens will account for 21% of the American population in 2050 (Older Americans, 2012). Although living longer lives may not seem like a negative sign, living longer does not necessarily mean living healthier. Older adults of today are in need of long-term health care services more than any generation before them (Older Americans, 2012). Because of the growing need for senior care, millions of families are facing critical decisions on how to provide care for their parents.
Active ageing does not stop when elderly people retire, as they can remain active through their families, peers and communities. Active ageing aims to allow elderly people to realise and bring awareness to their own psychological, physical and mental well-being. As the goal of active ageing is the autonomy and independence of elderly people (Alexandre, Cordeiro, & Ramos, 2009). Ageing is a continuing life cycle, it is an ongoing developmental event that brings about certain changes in one’s own psychological and physical state. It is a time in one's own life where an elderly individual reminisces and reflects, basks and lives on previous accomplishments and begins to finish his life cycle.
Since the beginning of recorded history, everlasting life has been pursued by old and young, rich and poor. One need only look to the Gilgamesh Epic, the oldest story in the world, to discover where these roots lay. Gilgemesh, the mighty king and warrior, fearing his own demise, seeks out Utnapishtim, a mortal made immortal by the gods, in the hopes that he'll reveal the secret of eternal life. The immortal tells the king of a flower, which when eaten, bestows eternal life. Note that the answer is tangible and real, something that can be seen and held. Not immortality for the soul, but for the body. In the end Gilgamesh fails at his quest, but he is all the wiser for his journeys. The Greeks, too, sought immortality, but it tended to be of a spiritual nature only, because generally the gods were the only ones considered to be true immortals.
Late adulthood should be a time in a person's life where they feel fulfilled. They can look back on their memories and be happy with the way they have lived their life. Now, too many elderly people are not satisfied and look at this stage as depressing. Most fear death of either a loved one or for themselves. This topic is interesting to me because elderly people should make the best of their last stage of life. This topic discusses about getting older, the life changes that they go through physically, emotionally, and mentally. We should know more about it so that we can help our family and friends get through one of the best, yet toughest part of our mortal life.
...efore, rather than losing the work force, there are more people who are now available to work efficiently and for a longer span because they have a better health, consequently, the aging individuals in the workforce can still be active. The use of modern medicine has greatly improved the economic sector of most countries using this technology.
fifty than below it. The study of the affects of ageing looks at survival and mortality and the