Aging is basically the process of getting older. Aging is associated with every living thing that is mortal including humans, animals, and fungi. The number of people above the age of 65 years in the United States is projected to be around 60 million and is projected to grow by 10 million in the next decade (Ilmarinen 546). Essentially, it is worth noting that age as a concept can be defined in several dimensions. Chronologically, age is defined by considering the progression of time and the effects of that progression on the experiences of an individual (Leach 51). Age can be defined sociologically to include the physiological and biological changes on the individual as well as the social expectations that the society places on a person as they grow older. However, it is quite prudent to note that the aging process is one that is experienced differently among the elderly (Leach 51). Nevertheless, it is also prudent to note that despite the fact that aging is a process that is not experienced uniformly among individuals, there are certain experiences that are shared among them thus making aging a social stratification just like race, gender, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status (House et al. 25). These are aspects to do with the decline in their physical abilities and the physiological and biological changes that make the elderly dependent. This paper seeks to highlight the various concepts of aging through the eyes of an elderly lady.
Methodology
This is an account based research paper that seeks to analyze the concept of aging from the perspective of an interviewee. The research seeks to explore the potential changes in the quality of life that comes with aging. In this regards, this study applies a qualitative research methodology. The main idea in the research is a social phenomenon and as such this study would take a multidimensional approach so as to gain an in-depth understanding of the concept of aging as well as the broader scope of the same concept through the descriptions of the interviewee. The study is a case-specific research that limits this research to the perspective of the lady in the interview. However, since qualitative researches are faced with the question of the validity of the raised concepts, an exploratory design will also be applied. The design is applied to gain more insight into the concept of aging by studying existing literature on aging and the significant issues around it. The data will be collected via semi-structured interview with ten questions focusing on her experiences especially in regards to her family.
Profile of the Interviewee
The interviewee is a sixty five year old lady living in with her husband in the neighborhood. She is of Canadian descent and it is rather interesting to note that she has been living in the same house for more than fifty years. My relationship with the interviewee is rather casual as she is the friend and neighbor of my mother’s friend’s mother in law. As such, I met her through my mother as I was looking for an interviewee as a case study. My mother’s friend recommended her as she seemed to be the most reachable elderly person at that moment.
Life History of the Interviewee
As earlier mentioned, the interviewee is of Canadian descent. She grew up in Calgary with his parents during the time after the Second World War. Her father was a builder initially and the family living at Center Street in 25th
Avenue was used to the teasing from the neighbors for being lowly. At that time the population of Calgary was around 50,000 and as the population grew, the family found itself living in the outskirts of the town. Her father had previously served in the Air Force and as such was given bonuses for housing which he invested in a 50 by 120 feet house for which they paid $150. The government promised a refund for any repairs on the house and the father being a carpenter got his $75 dollars for the repairs on the roof.
The interviewee went to school three blocks away and her mother walked her to school once in a while. Kindergarten was optional and there were no vehicles to drop her off to school. However, as the house was being repaired, she lived with her grandparents in 32nd Avenue near Vernier School and her father would take a bike to and from their house in Center Street to her parent’s house. Outdoor activities were more preferable and when televisions came about in the 1950s it was not common for the children to sit indoors and watch it. Listening to the radio was also a big deal.
Men at that time did more professional work and women did more housework. However, at the end of the war, more women enrolled for more professional jobs as men had either joined the force or had gone oversees and their jobs still needed to be done.
The interviewee grew up in the Anglican Church where she was confirmed. However, there was not much commitment to religious beliefs. Another notable aspect is that upon marriage, she became closer to her husband’s family since her parents passed on.
Macro sociological Concept
Macro sociology is an ideology that deals with a broader sense of the social phenomenon. The ideology entails an understanding of various social groups and collectivities as well as major institutions and organizations as well as historical and cross-sectional studies in a single society. Generally, this is a concept that may be essential in understanding the human society and its history. In this case, the history of the subject was shaped by the World War II and the social shift in the way people related in her community. Likewise, despite the fact that religion is mentioned, it contributed too little in shaping the society in which she lived.
These factors shaped the experiences of the individual. According to McNeil et al (12), social contextual factors determine how an individual reacts to the changes in social phenomena. The subject in this interview was rather young when the war took place. Besides, during that period working in a professional setting was a preserve for the men. In bivariate, social ties, age and the work place social capital were essentially associated with the physical activity in which one participated. For instance, in the war, only men were allowed to work. Women were predominantly left to do most of the housework. Children, on the other hand, were basically allowed to do most oftheir activities outdoors. As the subject explains, people were physically fit and as such, their health was much better and there was no need for the gym. However, at the end of the war, women were allowed to keep their professional jobs or go back to the physically ascribed duties of being home-makers.
Theoretical Analysis
The structural functional concept analyses each aspect of the society as interdependent and with significant contribution to the society as a whole. The concept emphasizes on the macro-sociological aspect of the society as opposed to the micro-sociological insistence of social interpretation theory. According to the theory, the society is held together through a social consensus in which members of the society agree to work together for the common good of the community. According to Emile Durkheim (9), the functionalist theory takes two forms i.e. the mechanical and the organic solidarity. The former refers to the unity in norms and beliefs while the latter is in the interdependence of the members of the members as is seen in complex societies.
In this interview it is quite obvious that the subject’s father was a member of the Air Force. The structural functioning of the society dictated that the father was given bonuses for housing. The government gave them bonuses and even refunded them in case of damages in repairs. These facts highlighted the general way in which the functional structure of the society affected her. The war also affected the way people around her related especially in regards to the work force and labor. Women were not allowed to be in the force but when the men were away, the women took up their jobs.
Evidence from the interview and a review of sociological theories and concepts depicts that the life of the subject was an interaction between the micro-sociological and the macro-sociological factors in the patterns of her life history. It is prudent to note that the subject’s life was affected both by the functionality of the society and the functionality of the family. Her experiences as shaped by the social shifts juxtapose the changes that occur as one ages and the struggles that take place in life as one grows older.
Works Cited
Butterfield, Kenneth D., Linda Klebe Trevin, and Gary R. Weaver. "Moral awareness in business organizations: Influences of issue-related and social context factors." Human relations 53.7 (2000): 981-1018.
Durkheim, Emile. Durkheim: The rules of sociological method: And selected texts on sociology and its method. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.
House, James S., Paula M. Lantz, and Pamela Herd. "Continuity and change in the social stratification of aging and health over the life course: evidence from a nationally representative longitudinal study from 1986 to 2001/2002 (Americans' Changing Lives Study)." The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 60.Special_Issue_2 (2005): S15-S26.
Ilmarinen, Juhani E. "Aging workers." Occupational and environmental medicine 58.8 (2001): 546-546.
Leach, Joan. "Sociology of Aging." Journal of Gerontological Nursing 26.4 (2000): 51-51.
McNeill, Lorna H., et al. "Influence of individual and social contextual factors on changes in leisure-time physical activity in working-class populations: results of the Healthy Directions–Small Businesses Study." Cancer Causes & Control 23.9 (2012): 1475-1487.
