Dealing with Americas Fear of Aging and Death - Research Paper Example

Forever 21: Dealing with America’s Fear of Aging and Death of This paper will deal with psychological issues facing American’s today. These may include issues such as fears of aging and death etc. The American society has grown uncomfortable with matters of growing old and dying. Most people are reluctant to talk openly about death. Americans are one of the most death denying cultures today. In fact, as a whole, we don’t even like to use the term “died”. Perhaps it reflects our superstitions or our fears. Maybe it has to do with our religious beliefs, or our philosophies regarding life. Only in America, it seems, is youth so valued and age so fearfully resisted. The American ideal is young, physical, full of potential and older people as a group are treated as over-the-hill. This paper examines why there is such a stark fear of aging and death, America’s response to it, and a solution to develop a sense of mature growth in the process.  Forever 21: Dealing with America’s Fear of Aging and Death American society or the contemporary way of American lifestyle does not in comprehend the concept of death and growing older. Whenever one has to talk about growing older then there are many fancy or creatively furnished sentences that are uttered by people. These sentences may range from considering age as a matter of counting years where the person himself never becomes old. In other words, it can be said that American culture does not tell its coming generation to understand that growing older is yet a very significant phase of life that must be welcomed as it brings wisdom. Also, the concept of forever 21 seems to become a legit aspect of American society that is critical to dispose. This paper critically provides an in-depth discussion regarding the denial of Americans for death and growing older. American culture revolves around the fact that every person has to live their youthfulness to the point where they do not feel older. It is due to this reason that Americans are noted to experiment different things in order to stay young throughout their lives. One of the reasons behind little or no consideration to the concept of growing older of dying is the fact that people cannot do anything about living for longer. In simpler words, it can be said that people in the American society know all the reason behind death (Salladay, 2004). On the surface, the issue of growing older and not accepting the wisdom is merely the fear from which Americans do not seem to escape. There is a high intensity of rejection that is noted when it comes to growing older in American society. The fact remains that the mindsets of people is to have bodies that are socially accepted and wanted. The change within the skin and body brings wisdom as well that is ignored by masses. It can be well stated that American nation does not seem to understand that the aspect of growing older allows the younger generation to plan for it (Overall, 2005). There is no roadmap that can be provided to the young generation of American society. It is merely because the old age is projected as an age of endless dependence. Herein, the fact remains that people need to understand that being older means being more experienced. Americans can bring their experience into practice rather than wanting of struggling for the age that will perish, youth. In the wake of toil moil that is done to stay younger, there is an avid truth that people end up wasting their youth for an older phase of life that is unplanned and more dependent. Therefore, it is rather suggested that baby boomers must take a step ahead to guide the youth so that they do not have to live a life that is fully dependent upon aid. It is rather stated that being young means to be able to plan out life ahead. Youth cannot be wasted in the name of enjoyment and spending the years that will never come. In particular, the view of turning old age to be an endless phase with no dead end to it is the biggest mistake that Americans are making in the contemporary time (Acousta, 2011). Let us now look at the manner in which American society has been trying to dispose the concept of growing older and heading towards the reality of death. Firstly, there are a number of operations or surgeries that are conducted by Americans in order to stay younger. These plastic surgeries remains as one of the ways through which they can sustain their body’s look for a youthful experience. There is likelihood that in coming years, the dependence of Americans will become compulsory on plastic surgeries. The main purpose of conducting a plastic surgery is to make sure that more and more visual signs of old age are hidden. As per the statistics, the numbers of plastic surgeries that have risen in the past two decades have multiplied in the recent years. Looking at such a scenario, it is predicted that the number of plastic surgeries will increase up to 60,000 covering 3 million people. In addition, it should rather be mentioned here that the cost of these procedures is also critically increasing. It takes years for these people conducting plastic surgery to pay back the price. Majority of the people tend to get the surgeries on loan from banks. This shows that people are acting like children in order to look younger. The attitude is further spreading among the masses (Sims, 1994). One of the major reasons behind the spread of stereotypical nature of growing older and cheating death has been spread by the free media. News, magazines, books, etc. have all created a stronger support for concept of forever 21. Most importantly, the advertising techniques that are being used in media for marketing and sales of products have had a great influence on the thinking schema of people in American society (Lockenhoff, 2009). References Acousta, J. (2011, 02 23). Death Fear: Why Do We Dread Being Dead? Retrieved from huffingtonpost.com: www.huffingtonpost.com/judith-acosta/death-fear_b_825726.html Lockenhoff, C. E. (2009). Perceptions of Aging Across 26 Cultures and their Culture-Level Associates. Psychology of Aging, 24(4), 941-952. Overall, C. (2005). Aging, Death, and Human Longevity: A Philosophical Inquiry. California: University of California Press. Salladay, S. A. (2004). Aging, Death, and the Quest for Immortality. Wm B.: Eerdmans Publishing Company. Sims, D. D. (1994). Understanding Grief: A Journey towards Healing. New York: Self Published. Read More