Throughout Society, we various kinds of people who we call "minorities". Minorities do not just apply to race and gender, but age as well. By age, I am referring to the elderly. Therefore, I will begin by listing the various ways in which the elderly are considered a minority. There are eleven different categories in which I can back up this point of view.
The first category is known as Life Expectancy. Throughout the world, from country to country, the life span of individuals change. In countries such as the United States and Canada, the Life Expectancy is seventy-five years and older. In countries such as China and Brazil, an individual's life expectancy is sixty-six to seventy-four years old. In countries such as Russia and India, individuals are expected to live from 56 to 65 years. In South Africa, people are expected to live from the ages of 45 to 55 years.
Unfortunately, people in countries such as Afghanistan live to be up to 45 years old or less. The Second Category is the Diverse Population of The Elderly. Within this category is Three Levels of "Old". The first level of old is known as the "younger old", which range from sixty-five to seventy-four years old. The second level of old is called "Older Old", where the range of age is seventy-five to eighty-four. The third and highest level as an age range of eighty-five and older is known as the, "Oldest Old".
The Oldest Old are increasing in the population at a fast percentage. The third category is Social Isolation. Isolation is at its peak with the elderly. When people begin to increase in age, a deduction of health prevents their skill of navigating, along with restrictions on their health. Because of these weaknesses, many stereotypes are placed among the elderly. The cruel stereotypes state that the elderly are old-fashioned and "out of touch", which are very cruel statements.
The fourth category is Retirement. A majority of people that work consider retirement by sixty-five years old. The retirement age fell from sixty-eight to sixty-two years old in a fifty-year span. The fifth category is Ageism, which is prejudice and discriminative behavior towards the elderly. Even if the elderly are still doing their job or are retired, they may still get shunned by younger individuals. Therefore, elderly people turn to medications such as Botox to decrease aging.
The sixth category is Victimization Of The Elderly. The title within The Victimization Of The Elderly is known as "Elder Abuse". Elder Abuse was only considered a social problem until the 1980's. The abuse of the elderly can consist of being abandoned to abuse that is verbal, emotional, and physical. Another form of Elder Abuse is Nursing Home Abuse, which results in many injuries for the elderly. The seventh category is The Growing Need For Caregiving.
Half of the total amount of elders in the United States will never receive the nursing home experience, and a portion of our society is over the age of sixty-five is growing. Caregiving is a category that is a form of free care that is given to an individual that is relying on family members. A person who is a caregiver gives support to an elderly person for multiple hours alongside their complete day of work. The eight category is poverty. 3.6 million men and women who are sixty-five years old, and older, were in existence underneath the government's poverty standards. The ninth category is Housing.
A majority of elderly people choose to "Age in place". They prefer to stay in the homes that they lived and raised their children in. However, about 15 percent of the elderly reside in houses exclusively for the elderly. Changes that occur within ourselves as we age require safety adjustments to a house. The tenth category is Medical Care. As people grow older, people need more and more care in the medical department.
To assist with paying parts of the medicare, a large percentage of the elderly buy personal health insurance. The eleventh and final category is Death and Dying. All individuals confront the truth of death over time. In fact, a difficult endeavor to face as one becomes old is death. However, death is a removed aspect from modern-day civilizations. In conclusion to this topic, the society of the United States of America evades this category.
In conclusion, these are my eleven reasons why the elderly are a minority, and should be treated well.
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