The baby boomers cohort is soon approaching the last third of their lives while
they try to disentangle the many stereotypes the elderly encounters today. The
baby boomers are now beginning to attain a new vantage point about getting old.
This is the first approaching age cohort in American society that is trying to
make a difference with being able to accept the concept of growing old as the
true so-called "golden years." The baby boom generation grew up
primarily in the hippies decade which contributed to the vast majority of people
to first become in American society freewill, liberal, independent individuals.
Presently in society today the once "hippies" that rejected the advice
of anyone over 30 are now beginning to educate themselves about what their
future beholds as they begin to reach the last third of their lives. They want
to focus on the reality of getting old not just the negative stereotypes society
has created towards the elderly. In the American society we have created such
negativism towards the elderly. The article points out that by time the tender
age of only 6 years old we have created negative stereotypes about aging and we
also develop stereotypes about races and gender at this same time. We feel in
the American society almost as if it is a sin or even lack of a human being if
we show signs of aging. The article discusses from the 1960s to the 1980s, the
number of wrinkle removing face-lifts rose from 60,000 to an estimated 2 million
a year at an annual cost of $10 billion. Due to this drastic increase pertaining
to rejuvenation we should all become plastic surgeons. A diverse amount of
experts are trying to change the way society views and deals with growing old.
They have adopted the concept of "conscious aging." This new concept
basically means trying to accept what aging actually is, and trying to view it
as a new point of life- a "new window." Also, not concentrating on the
inevitable primary aging characteristics is an essential way to live and cope
with being old. If the elderly can learn to educate themselves about the process
of aging, and not pinpoint it to just a change that they individually encounter
alone, then they could possibly realize this happens to us all at one point in
life. Therefore, we may not have such negative feelings about becoming old or
even being old. If society can learn to obtain these attitudes towards being old
maybe it will even become a self fulfilling prophecy as viewing the elderly from
a new positive perspective.