We continued our Worlds of Difference: Inequality in the Aging Experience book discussion, this time focusing on the social and psychological context of aging. The readings from this chapter describe how societal expectations discourage people from living true to themselves over their life course. Moreover, the passages illustrate different stereotypes attached to elders and how internalization of these stereotypes influences the aging experience. Thus, it is important to find the balance between fulfilling one’s role in society and accommodating personal needs/maintaining personal identity.
We then watched a documentary on population aging in the United States and the challenges our aging population face. The documentary suggests that as Social Security deficiency causes financial crisis for elders, people in their 40-50s are greatly distressed and exhausted by the burden of providing and caring for both their children and their retired parents. On the other hand, with medical advances in modern society, people entering retirement are still physically and mentally capable of working; this raises the question of whether retirement age should be increased. The documentary proposes a solution that I think would be more effective than raising the retirement age – a model in which periods of working are alternated with periods of leisure and rest would reduce workers’ burnout and increase workplace efficiency better than a model of long, continuous work years followed by retirement. The documentary also suggests that removing the limit on taxable income amount can alleviate the issue of Social Security bankruptcy. Overall, this documentary addresses many problems caused by policies that are resistant to changes and thus fail to accommodate demographic shifts in the United States.
We then watched a documentary on population aging in the United States and the challenges our aging population face. The documentary suggests that as Social Security deficiency causes financial crisis for elders, people in their 40-50s are greatly distressed and exhausted by the burden of providing and caring for both their children and their retired parents. On the other hand, with medical advances in modern society, people entering retirement are still physically and mentally capable of working; this raises the question of whether retirement age should be increased. The documentary proposes a solution that I think would be more effective than raising the retirement age – a model in which periods of working are alternated with periods of leisure and rest would reduce workers’ burnout and increase workplace efficiency better than a model of long, continuous work years followed by retirement. The documentary also suggests that removing the limit on taxable income amount can alleviate the issue of Social Security bankruptcy. Overall, this documentary addresses many problems caused by policies that are resistant to changes and thus fail to accommodate demographic shifts in the United States.