Final Summary/ Reaction

After seeing the results of my research, I found that most people have been discriminated against because of their age at one time or another. As I had predicted teenager and elderly adults were the most discriminated against. The middle aged adults weren't as affected. Many of the teenagers who took the survey also discriminated against other age groups. After this semester I have become more aware of the negative effects of ageism. I have learned a lot about the different aspects of ageism.

Plan Update

After posting my survey for the young adults group on my Facebook, I received many responses. I was surprised by the incite that many of the people had. Most of the people are meeting my hypothesis. I will hopefully get my results for the middle-aged adults soon, and after that the elderly group. I think the teenage group met my hypothesis because I had a minor bias that turned out to be correct. I have experienced the negative effects of  ageism and I know many friends my age who have also. I am curious to see how the middle-aged adults will answer the survey.

Strategy/Plan for Research

For my final research project, I plan on giving a survey to about 30 people. I will split the results into two groups, 10 people from the ages of 14-25, 10 people aged 26-64, and 10 people aged 65+. I will be asking about 20 questions using a Google doc and a printed copy, whichever would be easiest for the person. I will be asking everyone the same questions so I will try to make it possible for every age group to relate to the question. The survey will consist of a broad array of questions about ageism. I will try to find out how people in each age group are personally affected by ageism and how many are actually a little ageist themselves. My hypothesis is that teenagers and elderly adults will be more affected by ageism than middle-aged adults. I also think that all three groups will be somewhat equally ageist towards each other. (For example, teens will stereotype the elderly, the elderly will stereotype teens, and middle-aged adults will stereotype both teens and the elderly.)

Suggested Research Method/Why

For my semester 2 project, I am going to hand out a questionnaire to a group of teenagers, middle-aged adults, and adults over the age of 65. I am going to ask them a number of true/false question, multiple choice, and free response questions. Some of the questions I have thought of so far are: "Do you feel like you have ever been treated wrongly because of your age, how?" "What do you think the best age is?" "How do you feel about the age you are now?" 

#8 Final Blog Post

This project has broadened my view on Ageism. Before this project, I didn't really know what ageism was. I knew that age discrimination happened but I didn't know that it had a name or that it was so prominent in our society. Ageism is something that everyone should be aware of because it can affect everyone. It is disturbing to think of all the ways elderly people are discriminated against because of their age. I also learned that ageism affects not only the elderly, but also young adults. People have to realize that everyone, no matter their age, deserves respect and opportunities to do what they love. 

#7 How Ageism Affects Teenagers

This article has great points on how ageism effects the young as well as the old. When most people think of ageism they think of how it affects the elderly. But ageism actually affects people of all ages. People forget that in order to fight ageism we have to fight it from every angle. Ageism is something that everyone can relate to. We have all been told that we were too young for something at one point in our lives. Ageism against young people can also mean people stereotyping them. Many older people think that teenagers are all lazy, entitled, reckless and not respectful. Although some young people are like this, the majority of teenagers aren't. The picture below is a poster that was in a convenience store. This poster demonstrates the stereotype that all teenagers are bad kids that are going to egg houses on Halloween. This isn't true. What if they just wanted to make a cake? This stereotype makes teenagers feel like adults don't appreciate them and think poorly of them.

In order to stop ageism, people have to realize that everyone is important and should be valued, no matter what age they are. People have to understand that one day, you will be old too and it's important to show respect for the elderly because the way you treat them is how you will be treated one day. People also have to realize that they were all young once. Older people tend to forget what it was like being younger. They think that they were perfect and did nothing wrong. People should give teenagers the respect that everyone deserves.  Instead of making a snap judgement, people of every age need to take time to get to know someone.

"Ageism against any age group will never truly be defeated, unless we simultaneously deal with how it affects young and old alike."

Article Link

#6 Ageism in BBC (Article)

Hugh Porter is a cycling legend who has won multiple gold metals for Great Britain in various Olympic games. After his cycling career, Porter worked for BBC as a commentator for the Olympic games. His 30 year career was ended last spring at the age of 73 because they wanted to replace him with someone younger. Porter was devastated by this decision because he still loves that sport and was hoping to commentate for the Olympic games in Rio. He doesn't think that he's too old for the job and believes that his voice is still strong. He said that if he thought he was too old he would be the first one to say something. What really annoyed Porter was that BBC made it seem like he stepped down from the job. He wants people to know that it was BBC's decision, not his. This isn't the first controversy on how BBC treats their older presenters. Miriam O'Reilly and Anna Ford have both recently accused BBC of firing them and other coworkers solely on the fact that they were too old.

Porter was BBC's main commentator for cycling since 1984. I think that it was wrong to take away Hugh's job, especially because he loved it so much. He dedicated his whole life to the Olympics and to have it end this way isn't fair. I feel especially bad that BBC made it seem like he was the one who decided to stop commentating. Hugh was planning on commentating for as long as he could and definitely shouldn't have been fired. He was planing on going to the games in Rio at the age of 77 and commentating for cycling there. This kind of relates to my previous post on women in movies and television being fired for being too old and not pretty anymore. I think that the same outlook applies here. If Porter is willing to work and his voice is strong, he should be allowed to do the job that he loves.

 ARTICLE

#5 How Actors Are Affected by Ageism (Article)

    Beautiful Actresses are Greatly Affected by Ageism

Actor Angela Lansbury from Murder She Wrote talks about the difficulty it is finding a work as you get older. She says that this greatly effects the actresses that were considered beautiful in their youth. She says that as you grow older there are less and less acting parts because more of the gigs are given to younger women. Lansbury even says that "Shakespeare stopped writing about women while his men aged. The young look nicer". She says that she hasn't really suffered from ageism because she was a character actress and was never considered a beauty. But she does see more and more women her age not being able to find jobs and being forced to retire. 

Its sad to think that there are women who want to work but can't because they are considered too old and not pretty anymore. There is too much focus today on being young and pretty. I think that it's horrible that this only effects women. This doesn't really effect men as they age. There are a bunch of male actors that are considered better looking because they are older. It must be hard for these women because they spent their career being praised for their work and good looks and now people are closing doors for them because they are no longer what the media wants. Although this is directed toward actresses, lack of jobs for older people in any profession is very common today.

Resources (X)

#4 Ageism in Disney (Article)

Cruella De Vil. Ursula. Cinderella's Stepmother. The witch from Snow White. These are just a few very evil villains from some popular Disney movies. What do they all have in common? They are all old with white hair. Are these Disney characters giving elderly people a bad rep?

93 Disney characters are over the age of 55.

42% of this group had negative qualities such as being grumpy, lazy, helpless, absent-minded, evil, sinister, or crazy.

71% of the films contained at least 1 negative portrayal of an older character

However, 10 films did contain only positive portrayals of older characters.



I think it's surprising how so many of the older characters in Disney movies are portrayed negatively. Now that I think back on  the Disney movies I watched as a kid, I can think of at least one older character in each movie that had a negative quality. I think that this could definitely influence the way children perceive older people. I think that how you are raised can also effect this. If you grow up surrounded by loving older adults, you won't really believe the things you see in Disney movies. But if you grow up without grandparents or your grandparents were had one of these negative characteristics, you could think that all old people are how they seem in Disney movies.

Article Link

#3 Ageism in the Media (Video)

Some Commercials For Your Entertainment!

6 Flags

Boost Mobile

Snickers

My guess is that while watching those commercials, most people would crack a smile or even laugh. This is exactly what the makers of these commercials are aiming for. But at what cost? These commercials are made to be funny because of one thing: they show elderly people doing things that are against what we think is normal for people their age to do.  The media exploits the elderly for entertainment. A current example of ageism in media is the movie Bad Grandpa, where the whole movie revolves around a guy dressed as a old man doing things that old men wouldn't normally do. "I've fallen and can't get up!" "Where's the beef?" Just by hearing those two quotes, most people automatically know where they come from. There were so many commercials that had to do with ageism that it was difficult to choose which ones to put in this post.

The three commercials that I have chosen all show things that people would find funny because it makes elderly people look silly. But where does the line stand between silly and idiotic? The first commercial that I chose is the classic 6 Flags commercial. It shows an elderly man shuffling off a bus, holding his back and adjusting his large glasses. Then, all of a sudden, he starts dancing wildly to loud music. Most people would find this funny because you never see old people dancing so bizarrely. The second commercial is for Boost Mobile and shows an elderly woman using vocabulary that most people would never expect from a person her age. She uses phrases like "ight", "yo", "home-girl" and "where you at". Boost Mobile had a line of commercials that all used the slogan "Boost Mobile. Designed for young people. But its just more fun showing old people." Boost Mobile knows that people think its funny watching old people do or say dumb things. The third commercial is a Snickers commercial starring Betty White. This is relatively new and shows Betty White playing football, getting tackled, and cracking jokes. Betty White is a good example of ageism in the media because recently she has been in commercials or guest starred in T.V. shows that show her doing and saying things that are against what is stereotypically normal for older people. Media needs to move away from only showing the elderly as dumb people that are only there for people's amusement. I was surprised by how many commercials revolved around making older people the center of the joke and I hope that there will be more commercials that show elderly people in a better light.

#2 Article- What is Ageism?

What is Ageism?

Ageism is a form of prejudice and discrimination against someone because of their age. A person of any age can face this form of prejudice. Stereotyping and  difficulty finding work are just a few of the problems that people face because of their age. The term Ageism was first used by gerontologist Robert N. Butler. The term was first used to describe prejudice against older adults but it is now used to describe the discrimination of children, teenagers, adults, and senior-citizens. Ageism is also represented in the media. A person of a certain age can be stereotyped in the media which has a larger impact on society. The value that the media places on youth has lead to a larger amount of older adults seeking cosmetic surgery.

Ageism can effect anyone at any age. As a young kid, I remember times when I would say something and get dismissed because I was "too young" to really know what I was talking about. Adults would take my opinion as the opinion of a little kid and not really that important. I feel like this was because I was the youngest in my family. As an 18 year old I definitely will feel the effects of ageism. My parents will say that I need to grow up and become and adult but then say that I'm still a kid and just because I'm 18 doesn't mean I'm an adult. Ageism effects the elderly in many different ways. Most of them have to do with difficulty with jobs such as loosing a job, or not getting a promotion or pay raise because of their age. 

Resources: [x] [x] [x]

#1Intro to Topic- Ageism

Hi! My name is Christina Record and I'm going to be blogging about Ageism and how it is effecting people today. I picked this topic because I believe that it can relate to everyone and it would be interesting to see how Ageism effects the people around me.