8 Community Champions clients and volunteers joined retired tutor Jayne to discuss ageing and ageism. We agreed the benefits of getting older included gaining wisdom and confidence, not caring so much about the opinions of others, stopping work and having time to pursue hobbies or take on caring for family and friends. The disadvantages of getting older were declining health, not feeling valued by society, not seen as contributing but rather as recipients of help.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) conducted research which showed that ageism had become “normalised”, and found it is embedded in some societies. Western cultures (eg USA, UK, Europe) value youth and individual progress whereas Eastern cultures (eg India, China, Japan) respect elders and focus on extended families and community networks.
Age discrimination can be experienced by both older and young people and there are specialist services targeted at different generations eg 18 – 30 holidays, Saga holidays. B&Q had a policy of proactively employing older workers so they could share their personal experience of DIY with customers. Although the Equality Act (2010) bans age discrimination there are some situations where is it allowed eg casting for roles in the theatre plays eg Oliver Twist.
We discussed what age people consider to be old, and it was different for everyone! “I don’t feel old at all, age is just a number” “I do notice it takes me longer to do things, my thoughts are slower and I feel more achy. I have to motivate myself to go out and do things”
People shared diverse experiences of ageism, from feeling excluded from swimming to inconsiderate treatment at hospital.
When asked what one thing they would change in society to improve ageism most agreed that ”being cared for with compassion in my own home” would top their list. We also discussed the benefits and drawbacks of living in mixed-age communities – a chance to foster inter-generational dialogue and mutual learning but also potential disagreements about noise, music, acceptable behaviour and language!
We felt that maintaining a variety of social connections, looking after our physical and mental health, having good nutrition, keeping active and appreciating the small things in life all contributed to ageing well. We discussed older role-models who were still active in a variety of fields: Angela Rippon (aged 80) was a Strictly Come Dancing contestant and television presenter, Sir David Attenborough (aged 98) is a respected broadcaster who has shared his fascination of the natural world with many generations. Dame Joanna Lumley (aged 78) is an actress, television travel presenter and campaigner. Rod Stewart (aged 80) is a pop star and has had six much younger wives.
We finished by asking all to complete an Ageing Well pledge, what individual actions would people take to enhance their current life?
“I so enjoyed our morning with you all. It’s lovely to listen and chat about things that matter to me”
“Thank you so much for a really interesting learning session – it’s so useful to open up the conversation about our different experiences of ageing and ageism. I enjoyed Jayne’s energy and passion for the topic and in getting us all talking.”
This Blog was originally printed by the Harborough Mail and written by Rohini Corfield, Community Champions Manager.
Other blogs can be found in our news pages.
