(Those who do not age gracefully age in shame) 1
Following the “motivation industry,” two of the most profitable sectors in the world over the past 20 years have been healthy living and the pursuit of not aging or staying young. To meet this demand, there is a vast supply of offerings across the fields of nutrition, physical exercise, and surgery. Dr. Manuel Serraso of the Spanish Center for Oncological Research makes a very direct, clear, and brutal observation: “After the age of thirty, nothing biologically improves.” 2. Whether we accept it or not, the price of living is aging, and everyone is aware of the negative effects of age on the body—and this does not make anyone happy.
Surgical and cosmetic procedures, which in the past were accessible only to the wealthy, have now become a trend embraced even by urban dwellers with incomes below the middle-class level. In the race to grab a share of the billion-dollar industry created to reverse the natural course of things, detox farms and antioxidant treatment programs—which studies have proven only drain your wallet—are trying to attract not just the elderly, but people of all ages with false promises. The placebo effect they create through the framework they present causes people to flock here and feel better. Joining this bandwagon are the multivitamin and dietary supplement industry—which serves no purpose other than making people pay for expensive urine—and, of course, the cosmetics sector. There are two industries that bear no responsibility and are under no obligation to prove anything to their customers: the first is the vitamin and dietary supplement industry, and the second is the cosmetics industry. I don’t think anyone has ever filed a complaint against these companies claiming that the vitamins they took or the anti-aging creams they used didn’t make them look better or younger. People simply pay money and experience the feeling of having done something good for themselves without any effort.
People have three attitudes toward aging. The first is to try to look young—through procedures like surgery or Botox, or by dressing like a young person—essentially denying the reality of aging. The second is to view aging as a tragic illness or a tragedy and to withdraw from life. The third is to embrace one’s age and age healthily and well.
Becca Levy from the Yale University School of Public Health has reported that people’s perceptions of aging affect their lifespan. In her research, Levy suggested that those with a positive attitude toward aging lived seven years longer than those with a negative perception. Among Levy’s findings was that having a positive perception of aging also impacts quality of life; those who accept aging and the aging process tend to enjoy better mental and physical health. One of the findings of this study was that activating positive stereotypes associated with aging, such as wisdom, enhances memory in older adults more effectively than activating negative stereotypes, such as dementia. 3.
A culture’s perspective on aging naturally influences the people living within that culture. While American culture tends to have a negative perception of aging, Turkish culture—influenced by Central Asian and Ottoman traditions—approaches the elderly with respect and values the wisdom that comes with age.
My aim is not to praise old age, but it is important to keep in mind that old age offers certain advantages—such as mental and emotional maturity—that are difficult to attain in youth. As one ages, the sharp edges of one’s personality are smoothed out, resulting in people becoming more cautious, their ambitions diminishing, and their capacity for compromise taking precedence. This makes them more agreeable and harmonious. In contrast, those who develop a negative perception of old age embark on a struggle they cannot win as their youth fades. This struggle involves, on the one hand, trying to look young, and on the other, competing with the young and trying to prove that they are better than them. As one might expect, the result of these efforts is inevitably unhappiness, sorrow, and depression.
One of the most significant challenges facing different generations today is the barrier created by technology. It is often assumed that technological knowledge equates to knowing everything and having all the answers. As a result, young people believe that their aptitude for technology gives them a natural and irreplaceable advantage, and they overlook the opportunity to benefit from the wisdom of previous generations.
Devaluing old age
Today, we are witnessing a historical process that erodes intergenerational continuity and, as it progresses, erases the past. One of the sad aspects of the era we live in is that people’s memories have been dulled, leading them to believe that the lives of the two preceding generations were lived under Stone Age conditions. The pace of change seems to have wiped the concept of historical continuity from people’s memories. This situation applies primarily and especially to younger generations. However, we should not conclude that young people are to blame. The real reason lies not so much in the speed of change as in the transformation of society’s character due to urbanization. Yet most young people are unaware of recent history, do not consider it important, and, in a sense, believe that history began with them.
Instead of seeing themselves as part of intergenerational continuity and society, individuals have come to adopt an overly self-centered stance. In an environment where consumption and the pursuit of pleasure and enjoyment have become a form of worship, the “here and now” mindset guides people’s lives. According to historian Eric Hobsbawm, there were mechanisms in the past that connected younger generations to older ones. 4. French historian Marc Bloch states, “In agricultural societies, knowledge was passed down from one generation to the next.” 5. While parents worked in the fields, grandparents would watch over the children and talk to them. In this way, children became witnesses to their own history. This situation has been shattered today for many reasons. As a result, younger generations do not view the past as significant, and the only past young people know is their own personal history. Thus, Oscar Wilde’s statement that “youth is the time people waste when they are young” takes on the quality of a prophetic prophecy. Given that the world’s population is aging and the working life is extending, it is both necessary and appropriate for leadership roles to shift toward the younger generation. However, creating synergy by having mature individuals alongside the young—from whom they can draw on past experiences and seek advice—enhances management performance.
Conclusion
Living a long life while not aging is an impossible dream. As Bette Davis said, “Aging is not for the faint of heart,” and as we noted in the title, those who do not age gracefully age in shame.
Source:
- Karasu, Toksöz B., The Art of Living Peacefully, Trans. Handan Balkara, Boyner Publications, 2004.
- Scudellari, Megan, “To Stay Young, Kill Zombie Cells,” Nature, October 25, 2017, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/to-stay-young-kill-zombie-cells/, accessed October 15, 2020.
- Levy, B. R., Ferrucci, L., Zonderman, A. B., Slade, M. D., Troncoso, J., and Resnick, S. M., “A culture-brain link: Negative age stereotypes predict Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers,” Psychology and Aging, 31, 2016, 82–88.
- Eric Hobsbawm, “The Age We Live In Is an Age of Extremism and Barbarism,” video interview, https://www.ekdergi.com/eric-hobsbawm-icinde-bulundugumuz-cag-asirilik-ve-barbarlik-cagidir/, accessed October 15, 2020.
- A.g.e.
(*) This article is adapted with minor changes from the book “Living Life to the Fullest” (Living a Healthy, Long, and Good Life), published by Doğan Yayınları.
