Self-Image: Do People Become Irrelevant When They Get Older?

In today’s world, there is often more attention is given to people who are at the beginning of their life than there is to those who are going towards the end of it. Yet, it might be more accurate to say that people are often overlooked before they even get to this stage.

Youth

What this partly shows is how much attention is given to all that is new, and when something is old (or older), it can be seen as having no value. This is not only something that applies to people; it also applies to material objects.

Their value is then not based on anything other than their appearance, and the other quality’s that they bring to the world are then naturally going to be overlooked. In the same way, it won’t matter what an object can do if it no longer looks as it used to or if a newer version is available.

The Media

When it comes to looking for information on how people are viewed, one only needs to pick up a paper. Through doing this, there is the chance that they will see plenty of pictures of people who are in their twenties and thirties.

In addition to this, they may come across a number of stories that talk about how older people are not receiving the kind of care that they need, for instance. It is then easy to come to the conclusion that the older generation are often pushed to the side.

Anti-Aging

The beauty industry will give one more insight into the kind of relationship that people have with their appearance. Having wrinkles is no longer seen as something that people have to put up with, and there are numerous ways for them to be removed.

And although this is an industry that people of all ages support and one that offers all kinds of solutions, there is no denying the fact that the main purpose of these products is to reverse aging. One can then feel good through using them, but at the same time, they can come to believe that there is something wrong with getting older.

Two Experiences

This is not to say that both men and women have the same experiences when it comes to getting older, as this is rarely going to be the case. It can be a lot harder for a woman to get older than it can be for a man.

The reason for this is that a woman’s appearance is something that can have a big effect on how people respond to her, and even more so if she is classed as being attractive. And even though a lot has been done to change how women see themselves (and how they are viewed), there have been other factors that have created problems.

A New Focus

In the past, it could be said that women were more likely to have children in the western world, and this then is something would have given their life meaning. Now, this is not to say that this is the only purpose they have on this planet; what it comes down to is that this would have taken a lot of their focus away from themselves.

Through having children, there would have been the chance that they would end up having grandchildren. The perception they have of themselves would have changed when they had children and it would probably have changed again when their children had children.

One Outlook

However, if a woman was to focus on her career and didn’t care about starting a family, then it is going to be more important for her to look right and to maintain her appearance. This is because her whole life can revolve around her need to be successful and to move forward.

Yet if she didn’t take this route or took the time to bring children up, the people around her wouldn’t be as concerned about whether she looks young or not. Who she is will be enough and she won’t need to prove herself to these people; in their eyes, she can’t be replaced, but the same can’t be said if she was in the working environment.

A Difference

What this shows is that men and women often experience life differently and when this isn’t taken into consideration, it can lead to more problems. It can be easy to believe that a woman is free if she doesn’t have children and enslaved if she does, but clearly there are pros and cons to both experiences.
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A Role

Along with how someone can feel when their appearance changes, they can also view themselves differently when they retire. The meaning of their life will have changed and they can start to wonder if they have become irrelevant.

When they were at work, they had a purpose to fulfil, and now that this has come to an end, they can experience a deep sense of emptiness. One could then end up spending a lot of time thinking about how their life used to be.

The Other Side

But just because someone one can feel this way when they get older, it doesn’t mean that they can’t feel this way when they are younger. One could have their whole life ahead of them and have plenty to offer, and they could still feel as though they are irrelevant.

It could then be said that whether one feels relevant or not depends on their perspective and how they lead their life. Their purpose is likely to change as they get older, but that doesn’t mean that they no longer have one.

Absolute Relevance

If one wants to find people of all ages who are relevant, they will be able to find them. And in a lot of these cases, one will see that these people didn’t wait for other people to see them as being this way; they took it into their own hands.

Nevertheless, no matter how relevant someone is, they are not going to be seen in this way by everyone. Thus, if one feels completely irrelevant, they could reflect on the fact that not everyone will see them in this way.

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Oliver JR Cooper
http://www.oliverjrcooper.co.uk/