Common Stereotypes About The Elderly Sociology Essay

Along with the disease of racism and sexism, there is a disease called ageism. This is a social disease also fed by stereotypes. All these aged people are put in to the heading of “old” and have these characteristics in them, they start acting like children, ask many questions, they become senile, greedy, sorry to say unattractive and cranky. Here are five ways the Media show stereotypes in elderly people.

Elderly people are shown as helpless victims in different movies and TV shows.

Old people who avoid or oppose negative stereotypes are shown as bizarre and comical on the media.

Media shows elderly people as unattractive, unhappy and weak as health wise.

Old people are shown as devils and having a demon personality. Being greedy and harsh.

Most of the media sources show old people being ignored and considering them as a part of the society.

Media has made things complicated for old people.

What evidence is there for potential biological differences between centenarians (those who live to be over 100 years old) and others who only survive into their 70s and 80s.

Answer: The main factor in centenarians having the age of 100 years is that it is inherited to them. They also get less age related diseases as compared to people who survive into their 70’s and 80’s. Along with their family member also get the advantage of getting factors that enhance the aging process in them and factors that help them in preventing different diseases. This factor of long aging is inherited to them from their ancestors from last three generations. People with long ages have “significantly larger high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels and particle sizes and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels that reflect on their health and cognitive function performance.”

People who survive till their 70’s and 80′ have a factor that the live alone without any spouse or any children. They don’t have any life quality as they enter into their old age and there is no one to care about them as well which leads them to early death.

What are ways in which our society seeks to deny or avoid death? How do these influence your own attitudes toward death?

Answer: Everyone wishes to live a long and happy life. It’s in a human’s blood to avoid death. People use different ways to avoid death. There are many ways a person can avoid death. It just needs some precautions to take and to be careful while taking different decisions of our life. The biggest problem in today’s society is that people are lazy and eat things they really don’t have to eat. Especially the young generations is trapped in this laziness and finds shortcuts to life. The biggest reason of many diseases is that we drink a lot of fizzy drinks and a lot of junk food. Food with a lot of fat which gives us different heart diseases. The best wayto avoid many diseases is to exercise on daily basis. Go to the gym if not possible then do different exercises in your house. Go for a jog. This prevent many death causing diseases.

What are some issues for people to consider when preparing for death? What can you do in your own life to prepare for your own death?

Answer: Death cannot be dodged. One has to die one day or another. Before death people face different issue about their life, their family and the savings they have made. How to distribute it without making any problem and equally. During a person’s life they make their savings and have assets. But in my opinion thinking about family more essential then a person asset. One should put their family in a position before death that they live a comfortable life after the person’s death. And for that one has to distribute his legal will in an equal manner before his death because afterwards in many societies the male member’s get more part of the legal will then the female member’s. Another good thing one should remember is that the person should give his online accounts details in the will because they become public and anyone can access them easily, so one should be careful.

What is your position on euthanasia? With regard to older people. With regard to youth. What would you want for yourself if you were terminally ill? What would you include if you were writing a Living Will?

Answer: Intentionally killing yourself is a sin. It’s just like suicide. But in some situations a person has to do so to get relief from pain and suffering. With regard to old people it depends on the disease and the time period they are going through the specific disease. If the disease is operable and the person can handle the pain and suffering then killing himself is not an option. As regard to youth they can face pain and suffering more patiently as compared to old people. So the youth should not give and fight the disease until their last breath. Killing themselves is not an option. If I was terminally ill the thing I want for myself is to spend some quality time with friends and family, because they are the closest a person has. The thing I would include in my Living Will, will give all my assets to poor people after my death.

2nd Assignment:

Why should there be such dramatic inequality in the world. Should we take from the rich and give to the poor

Answer: The reason in my view for this dramatic inequality is that everyone thinks about themselves. The rich does not care for the poor and just treat them as slaves. Even the government supports the poor to a certain limit. The poor become poorer and has no status in the society. The poor is treated without justice and the rich is given proper protocol. The best way to finish this dramatic inequality is to take from the rich and give it to the poor. For this the government should start increasing tax on the assets of the rich, so that they get more from the rich and give it to the poor so that they can also live a good life. Poor people also have the right to live a happy and tension free life. So the rich should also think about the poor and help them in different ways without forcing them to help them.

Use the Internet to find a non-governmental organization (NGO) with programs that reduce poverty in some of the world’s poorest countries.

Answer: New life foundation is an NGO that is operating in Ghana. It has different programs to reduce poverty in some parts of the world. The different programs its doing to reduce poverty are 1. Health 2. Water and Sanitation 3. Computer training 4. Women & Youth Development 5. Good Governance & Human Rights 6. Education. It’s providing education on malaria and HIV AIDS. It is providing different computer training programs to the youth and pupils. The NGO is also reducing poverty by promoting community development by getting volunteers for development programs. The NGO is also constructing schools and clinics for rural communities. The NGO is also promoting education by giving scholarships to students and Skills training/Apprenticeship for Youth Placement for overseas schools (Junior and Senior High Schools). The NGO is also making boreholes in order to provide water to the villagers, training of community water and sanitation comities. It is also promoting hygiene educations at schools and communities.

How do race and gender affect the chances of being wealthy or poor and the experiences of being poor or wealthy?

Answer: Race and gender does have a huge impact on being wealthy or poor. Most of the jobs in our society are given on the basis of gender or race. For example if there is a vacancy for a job and the applicants are a black American and a white American, it’s obvious that the job will be given to the white American. This will discourage the black American and he will remain poor and go for other alternatives such as theft etc. The same scenario goes for the gender factor. There is a lot of gender discrimination in our community. Females are not given the opportunity to excel in their life which remains them in the dark side of life and the male gender excels and go for the brighter side of life. The female gender then has to remain dependent on the male gender and have to live a life as a slave.

Do you think there should be a universal “right to food”?

Answer: Food is basic necessity for every human. Without food and water a person cannot survive and yes there should be a universal “right to food”. There should be justice in the distribution of food. The rich people are getting richer and the poor cannot even eat properly. Here I will tell a famous fact that rich people walk to digest their food where as poor people walk in search of food. This world is cruel nothing is distributed equally. For example in under developed countries people starve for days and when get food do not get proper food. Most of the poor people find food from trash cans and left food by the rich people. Poor people cannot even feed themselves in dignity. They feel ashamed on what and how they are eating. The right of food include that human are free from hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. So everyone has the right to eatwell and should get this right.

Operating in 118 countries, McDonald’s has more than 33,000 restaurants. KFC has more than 20,200 restaurants in 109 countries. Does this expansion constitute desirable development? Why or why not.

Answer: More development means more job opportunities and less poverty. Yes! All of these expansion have contributed in development. Expanding their restaurants mean they need more man power to run their system which mean hiring more people and giving job opportunities. This also helps the government of countries they are located in because the government will charge those taxes and from that money they will develop the country in different ways. Having so many franchises will make a lot of revenue for the specified restaurants and they can make a good reputation by helping the community by developing different environment friendly projects. McDonald’s with more than 33,000 restaurants and 47 million people is the largest catering chain all over the world. Having so many people is a significant contribution in the development of many countries. KFC in the next three to five years will create almost 9000 new jobs. This is a huge contribution towards development.

1st Assignment

Today’s class system subject’s women to caste: Women should perform traditional tasks as a moral duty with men more often financially rewarded for their efforts. Is this why most chefs are men who work for income, while most household cooks are women performing a household duty.

Answer: Women have also a status in this society. They can also join a profession. They are not born to be housewife an only work at home. They should also help men financially and work at different places to take care of their families. Men choose traditional task like being a chef at some five star hotel or restaurant. Women should also go along with men to perform the same task, because women are good at this and earn a lot and support their family in a good way. Men doing traditional work results in a great impact on their sex life as well, if compared with those men who do not make do traditional work. This is according to a new study from the American sociological review. Women doing traditional work are labeled as pink-collar workers. The profession includes typical services industry.

We all think of being rich as having more money than we have now. What do you think is a good definition of being rich in terms of income? Why.

Answer: It’s a dream of every person to get or earn as much money as they can. A person is never satisfied with the things they have. They want to have more than they have. The good definition of being rich is that a person can fulfill his basic needs and fulfill some of his desires. The basic needs of a person are food, shelter and clothing. So a person should have an income in which he can eat good and healthy food. Live in a good place. A place or community where there is safety and peace. People desire to have heavy incomes so that they can live in big houses but this is not necessary for a person. Living in a small apartment can also give happiness. The third need is having clothes to cover your body. One can cover his/her body by simple clothes which a person can buy from a normal amount of income.

As we move into a postindustrial society, will prestige be less a matter of owning things and more a matter of developing personal creative potential.

Answer: As a person moves to a post industrial society, having a good reputation and high self esteem is what every person wants. Being well known in the society is a person desire. People providing services are literate and want a good reputation. This good reputation is gained by buying things that increase a person reputation and self esteem. Every person wants a prestigious life. A prestigious life can is seen by having prestigious things in one’s possession. Developing a personal creative potential is also considered as a matter for prestigious people. Creativity is a symbol of prestige. Creative people have a good reputation and high self esteem in the society.

What has caused the long-term rise in income disparity?

Answer: Income is the source of survival for a human being. People have unlimited wants and less resources to fulfill their desires and wants. To fulfill their wants they seek jobs with high salaries. A person does not want to have a constant income throughout their life. A person has to care about his family as well. Other than his own wants he has to fulfill his family’s wants. Than main cause in my point of view for rise in income disparity is that the education expense of a person’s children. It’s a person’s dream to see their children studying in a good college or university. Everybody wants a quality life. Life without anxiety and tension. A peaceful life with the family. Another reason in under developed countries is that they do not get their basic wants. So they need rise in income to fulfill their basic needs and for that they work hard and try to get promotions and increments.

Time magazine reported that 62% of stories on poverty in Time, Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report were illustrated with photos of African Americans, who make up about one-third of the U.S. poor. Does this difference call attention to the plight of black people, who are at high risk of being poor, or is it an example of racial prejudice. Why

Answer: This whole scenario is an example of racial prejudice, because African Americans are not given their rights properly. They are always at the bottom of the food chain. They are always treated as slaves. Sorry to say that. They have no image and reputation in the society. They cannot excel in their life because of their race. That’s why they remain poor their whole life and struggle their whole life. They are not even given the opportunity to perform any white collar job, despite of their high qualifications and experiences. Not getting opportunities lead them to a life of a criminal. They do crime to fulfill their desires and to take care of their families. Most of the African Americans are in the profession of labor. Their profession does not even fulfill their basic needs and they remain poor and never excel in their life. So the percentage of stories on poverty related to African Americans will increase day by day.