successful aging
...group is taken and applied toward all who fit in the general category. Most often the stereotypical views which are developed are based on very limited experiences with the elderly. Ageism, directly through language, media or humor adversely affects the process of successful aging throughout an individual’s lifetime. Successful aging results from a healthy lifestyle under which peak physical and psychological functioning is attained by participating in rewarding social activities (Quadagno, 2002: 5) and building relationships which maintain and enhance both physical and mental health (Volz, 2002: 7). A textbook example of a successfully aging couple is my grandparents. Chronologically, they have accumulated seventy-five years, functionally they reflect the physical appearance of a sixty year old and subjectively speaking they act and feel as if they are merely fifty years old. Practicing a highly active lifestyle, they invested in a motor home and traveled coast to coast for two years, visiting all their relatives. My grandfather recently has acquired the skill of stain glass window making and other handcrafts, while my grandmother has taken up swing dancing classes with other members from her cohort. Setting an example for other members of their community, they maintain a highly positive outlook on life after beating breast cancer, hosting social bridge nights, and remaining an active part of their children and grandchildren’s lives. Social gerontologists are currently working to alter the global perspectives of aging and subsequently ageism. Gerontologists are cultivating a new crop of positive views toward the elderly, abstract from the current negative stereotypes which investigate the multiple factors necessary to fashion a healthy and fulfilling life in old age (Work cited Quadagno, 2002: 5; Rowe and Kahn, 1998). Far too often however, the majority overlook the effects of their ageist actions ig...