Worksheet: Cultural Views on Aging

Growing older is the natural progression of living organisms. Modern culture views signs of aging as a negative side effect of living.

It is often viewed as something that should be reversed or slowed down. In 2011, the Associated Press reported that the baby boomer generation spent approximately $80 billion dollars on anti-aging products and speculated that figure to balloon to $114 billion by 2015. Why does the culture in the United States place such a high value on staying young?

What stigmas do elderly people face? How does popular culture stereotype the elderly? Are the stereotypes correct?

For this assignment, you will explain your ideas on what it means to age in the cultural landscape of the United States.

Assignment Details:

Perform the following tasks:

• Complete the reading assignment and the interactive lesson before attempting this assignment.

• Research the topic on cultural views of aging by:

o Using Google to search a few key words used to describe elderly people and review what topics are on the list.

o Reviewing magazines and television commercials and note how you see elderly people portrayed.

• To complete this assignment:

o Review the Written Assignment Rubricfor a review of writing expectations.

o Use your research and the worksheet on page 2 to respondto the following questions:

o Your response to the questions should be at least 350 words in length.

o Use Safe Assign to check your written draft against unintended plagiarism.

o Ensure that your responses are free of spelling and grammatical errors.