Dominant Perceptions on the Age

Abstract

Contemporary developed society, despite the fact that it is constantly and intensively ageing, is characterized by deeply rooted numerous negative stereotypes on old people and old age as a life period.

The study of dominant perceptions on the age of Belgrade population takes not only the universal character of negative connotation of old age into consideration, but also the concrete unfavorable social context.

The delicate problematic of stereotypes on old age and old people has been analyzed mostly indirectly, through questions on the beginning of old age, advantages and difficulties which we experience during ageing, the first subjective conscious encounter with one’s own ageing, the concept of ideal old age, changes in the persons traits and directly through questions on dominant negative perceptions which prevail on old people in our surrounding.

Ageing in the Belgrade milieu is most commonly identified with illness and with the decline of physical potentials, and at the same time a number of other negative qualifications of old age as well. Research results indicate to a pronounced ambivalent standpoint towards ageing, to different observation of one’s own to old age of other people, to different consideration of old age among the sexes and to obvious aversion towards old people. This is expected, taking into consideration that living and ageing are developing nowadays under aggressive influence of contemporary mass culture which affirms youth, beauty, physical strength, health as dominant values, namely everything that is contrary to ageing and old age. On the other hand, our society is today confronted with, as well as in the near past, exceptional political, economic and cultural difficulties which cause specific problems with various age groups, as well as the lowering of the level of mutual endurance and tolerance. The atmosphere of straining the old people and emergence of new antagonisms causes the intensification of misunderstandings and distancing among generations as well and creates a favorable climate for maintaining different prejudices, even those towards ageing.

While prejudices are by themselves a universal social-psychological category, prejudices on old age differ from the rest by one special and very significant characteristic – some primal fears are subconsciously hidden and some basic questions on the meaning of human existence are held back, so negative connotation of old age is precisely collective running away from these problems.