Emotional Burdens And Internalized Grief: 10 Ways Old People Today Are Different From 60 Years Ago
As time goes on, society changes and so do the people in it. Here are some ways in which old people of the past were different from old people of today.
Old Is Not So Old
“Today 60 is not old. I still do the things that I did when I was in my 30’s and 40’s. My parents and grandparents never were like that. For the most part I feel that we are younger for our age than previous generations.”
More Connected with Family
“Old people of yesteryear were more “connected” with their families. A more recognized and respected part of them back then vs now. Held in higher regard, and treated with more respect.”
Carrying Emotional Burdens
“Those older folk also carried emotional burdens of loss that most of my generation did not.” Older generations had lived through wars and illnesses that took many lives, and this emotional burden impacted their lives in ways that younger generations may not understand.
More Internalized Grief
“Many had lost family members to the Great War, our War of Independence and subsequent bitter Civil War had also added to the horrors that some must have quietly endured. Nobody talked about such things then – so a lot of inner grief and regret must have been bottled up tight in many of the then-old – no wonder we thought of some of them as joylessly odd.”
Better Quality Of Life
“I am in a few MeetUp groups with people who are often retirement age. I talk to lots of people who have traveled the world. One lady has been to 63 countries and other to 85. I am a piker at 26 countries. My dad always dreamed of going to Florida and died just before he was able to. I don’t ever seen anyone living in one room apartments with the bath down the hall like my dad’s dad. Even those on welfare live better. Life is very different for today’s old people”
Living a More Active Life
“I’m 65, not even thinking of retiring, simply because I cannot afford to. I’ve got a few aches and pains, mostly from having lived an active life doing physical work, but no real “old people” diseases. My pastel rainbow tinted hair is long, and usually in a ponytail. I’ve been told that my fashion esthetic is a cross between hippie and 12 year old boy. I wear jeans, hoodies, and colorful sneakers. I play classic rock, loud, in my car, which is actually a small pickup truck. I curse like a sailor, I recently quit smoking, and I like a beer or three when I’m out fishing. This weekend, I’m building a wooden ramp for my elderly chihuahua to get in and out of the yard from the deck. Somehow, I cannot picture either of my grandmas, or any of my friends’ grandmothers looking or acting like me now”
More Aware of Social/Political Trends
“Old(er) people in the 50s and 60s remembered Prohibition, the Depression, and WWII. So I think they were more aware of social/political trends and how they’d changed to get us to that point.”
Different Fashion
“Wow! My strongest memory of my grandmothers in the 1960s compared to today was how they dressed. It seems at age 50 every woman was expected to wear flowered print shirt waist dresses and heavy looking shoes, to support their swollen ankles. (Those were all stores stocked for years.) Today, I know 90 year olds still wearing jeans and Birkenstocks.”
More Active in the Community
“I, at 79, am part of a weekly kayaking group. My grandmothers were busy cooking for community pot lucks and knitting afghans for widows and orphans. Few women had worked outside the home so when they lost their spouse they had to learn how to care for themselves, often through programs set up by the Older Americans Act of 1976. Many of those programs have become obsolete because women are better educated today; many have been out in the work world, and many have had a more equal relationship in financial matters in their relationships.”
Less Smoking and Drinking
“They tended to smoke tobacco and drink alcohol a lot more and because of the health complications of those substances, they didn’t live as long. If I remember correctly back in those two decades, most restaurants didn’t even have non-smoking sections and you could smoke when flying on a plane. I actually don’t even believe my own memory. Attitudes have changed so much about both those things.”
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Source: Quora
