1. Does Old Age Have Meaning?
Controversy 1
Does Old Age Have Meaning?
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2. (c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.
The Meaning of Age
Humans live in a world full of symbolism and shared meaning
“Meaning” is so powerful, it can even be a matter of life or death
Two questions examined in the textbook:
Does old age have a meaning for society?
How do individuals actually experience their lives as meaningful in the last stage of life?
Social gerontology seeks to answer these questions by studying to areas of life that provide contrasting views of activity and disengagement:
Leisure and religion
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3. Leisure Activities in Later Life
In old age, leisure often begins to take the place of work, both in terms of having more free time and as a way of finding meaning in life
Leisure—defined as an activity engaged in for its own sake; an end in itself
Stereotypes of “old people’s activities” (e.g., shuffleboard, bingo, etc.) are mistaken
Age alone doesn’t predict what people do with their leisure time in later life
Old people are not all alike
Individual differences, gender, and SES all play a big part
(c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.

4. Changing Leisure Participation Patterns
People over age 65 continue to engage in the same activities with the same people as they did in middle age
Patterns of late-life leisure have important implications for the economy in an aging society
Americans over age 50 account for 40% of all consumer spending
Education and income are the biggest factors in how older people spend their free time
Retired people who have more money have more choices, and are more likely to change their patterns of activity more often
(c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.

5. Religion and Spirituality
Three-quarters of older Americans say that religion is “very important” in their lives
Religious involvement in old age tends to follow a pattern of multidimensional disengagement:
As people grow older, they may withdraw from some activities (such as attending church), but show an increase in personal religious practice (such as Bible study or listening to religious TV and radio)
(c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.

6. Religious Involvement
Older Americans continue to display patterns of religious identification similar to those among younger age groups:
65% = Protestant, 25% = Catholic, 3% = Jewish
Older women have higher levels of religious participation and belief than older men
Churches and religious organizations play many roles in the lives of older people:
Formal religious programs
Pastoral care programs
Sponsors or providers of social services
(c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.

7. Religious Participation and Well-Being
Studies have shown a positive correlation between well-being and religious beliefs among older individuals
But it’s difficult to define and measure what “religiousness” actually means in people’s lives
Also unclear whether or not religious involvement actually promotes physical health
Yet, social scientists theorize that religion helps older adults cope in many ways:
Reducing the impact of stress in late-life illness
Providing a sense of order and meaning in life
Offering social networks tied to religious groups
Strengthening inner psychological resources, such as self-esteem
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8. Spirituality and the Search for Meaning
While habits of religiosity tend to remain stable in later life, a recent study found that 40% of people who experienced a distinct change in faith did so after age 50
“Faith stages”—James Fowler’s (1981) theory that people move from simpler, more literalist idea of religion to levels where they see themselves in more universal terms
Six dimensions of “spiritual well-being”:
—Self-determined wisdom—acceptance of the totality of life
—Self-transcendence—revival of spirituality
—Discovery of meaning in aging—preparation for death
(c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.

9. Social Gerontology and the Meaning of Age
Gerontology tries to depict the facts of old age as a way of understanding the meaning of aging
Nearly 90% of people surveyed described their lives as meaningful
57% of meaning came from human relationships, 12% from service to others, as well as religious and leisure activities
Older people might still be encouraged to maintain social connections, but this engagement should be based on a strategy for individual development—not conformity to social norms or activities
(c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.

10. The Meaning of Aging in the 21st Century
The life course perspective views “stages of life” as social constructions that reflect broader structural conditions of life
Thus, as conditions change, so will the view of how people find meaning at different ages
It’s not clear how the meaning of old age will change in contemporary, postindustrial society
We must distinguish between a meaning that society ascribes to old age, compared to what individuals find meaningful in their own lives
(c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.

11. Reading 1: The Coming of Age
Simone de Beauvoir, describing the life course journey of becoming an older person, asks, “Can I have become a different being while I still remain myself?” Discuss the tension identified in this quote between staying the same and changing as we grow older.
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12. Reading 2: Vital Involvement in Old Age
Erikson, Erikson, and Kivnick state: “Our society confronts the challenge of drawing a large population of healthy elders into the social order in a way that productively uses their capacities. Our task will be to envision what influences such a large contingent of elders will have on our society as healthy old people seek and demand more vital involvement.” What assumptions do the authors seem to be making about current and future older adults? What might be some of the characteristics of “vital involvement”?
(c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.

13. Reading 3: Successful Aging
What do Rowe and Kahn mean by “successful aging”? What are your thoughts about this optimistic construction of old age? How realistic do you think it is? Are there other alternatives that are still positive?
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14. Reading 4: The Measure of My Days
Florida Scott-Maxwell writes about old age as both “a time of heroic helplessness” and “a place of fierce energy.”  What do you think she’s trying to express about aging and being an old person? Can you think of any examples that illustrate this seeming contradiction?
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15. Activity or Reflection?
The question of whether old age has meaning comes back to two alternatives:
1. continuation of midlife values into old age or
2. discovering some new or special challenge that belongs to the last stage of life
Either way, the future of an aging society will be shaped by all of us, because we are all simply “our future selves”
(c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.