Are you up on ageism? Take this quiz

Oct. 7 is Ageism Awareness Day for a good reason: Ageism is alive and well; it's everywhere as a stereotype, prejudice and ultimately as an act of discrimination against older people, all based on age.

We see it in the entertainment, tech and greeting-card industries. It exists in our health care systems, within social media and medical research, and among families and friends.

Ageism is the most widespread and socially accepted form of prejudice, often considered normative. And that's the problem. Many are unaware they harbor ageist attitudes toward others or themselves, or support ageist policies, programs or practices.

We have federal legislation to counteract ageism in the workplace. It's called the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and is applicable to companies with 20 or more employees.

The law makes it illegal to discriminate against those 40 or older based on their age for decisions of employment, promotion, compensation, raises, termination, training and more.

There's the rub. We can legislate actions but not how people think and feel. Ageism Awareness Day is a wake-up call to do just that.

Take this true/false quiz on ageism. There might be a few surprises:

1

The term “ageism” is relatively recent, having been coined 20 years ago.

False. The late geriatrician Dr. Robert N. Butler defined ageism as the systemic discrimination against older people in 1968. That was 55 years ago.

2

Ageist attitudes typically are developed in the young adult years, as they often bring increased exposure to older workers in the workplace.

False. Ageism and age stereotypes are often internalized at a young age — long before they are even relevant. Even by the age of 3, children are familiar with age stereotypes, which are reinforced over their lifetimes.

3

Older people with a more positive self-perception of aging live 7.5 years longer than those with a less positive self-perception.

True. Self-perceptions can influence how long we live. Research by Becca Levy, a professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, noted this longevity advantage remained regardless of the age, gender, socioeconomic status, loneliness and functional health of participants.

4

Ageism is a detriment to older adults' financial wellbeing.

True. Older adults who seek work face longer periods of unemployment and discrimination during the hiring process and have fewer professional development opportunities. All of this leads to fewer opportunities for earning.

5

Ageism has little impact on our economy.

False. Because older workers experience involuntary retirement, underemployment and unemployment, the U.S. economy lost $850 billion in 2018, according to AARP. By 2050, losses due to age discrimination could reach $3.9 trillion.

6

Older adults typically are included in clinical trials.

False. Older adults typically are not included in clinical trials and are less likely to receive preventive care. Ageism in health care has been linked to decreased survival rates, inadequate or inappropriate care, more emergency room visits and hospitalizations and more.

7

We generally have sufficient geriatricians in the U.S.

False. We have 8,220 full-time practicing geriatricians in the U.S. and 56 million adults age 65 or older; 30% need a geriatrician. And each geriatrician typically can see 700 patients.

8

Among medical specialties, geriatrics is considered among the most lucrative.

False. Geriatricians earn on average $233,564 annually. Anesthesiologists are paid twice that and cardiologists and radiologists' salaries top $500,000.

Marketers and advertisers have become increasingly aware of the senior market and are allocating a significant amount of their budgets to target older consumers.

False. An estimated 5%-10% of marketing budgets are devoted to reaching adults 50 or older. When older adults appear in an advertisement, they are often presented in a negative light.

10

Given that older adults watch an average of four hours of television a day, television programming is devoting more time and budgets to feature older adults.

False. Ageism in the media remains pervasive. One study found that only 1.5% of characters on television were older people. Most have minor roles, which are often written for comic effect.

Ageism Awareness Day provides each of us the opportunity to do a self-check. Consider how you feel and think about yourself as you get older and how you think and feel about older people. What assumptions do we make about older adults in their capacity to adapt, be flexible, use technology or learn something new? We know change begins one person at a time. If not now, when?

So, support Ageism Awareness Day on Saturday and know that kindness — every day — is a universal language.

Helen Dennis is a nationally recognized leader on issues of aging and the new retirement, with academic, corporate and nonprofit experience. Contact Helen with your questions and comments at Helendenn@ gmail.com. Visit Helen at HelenMdennis.com and follow her on facebook.com/ SuccessfulAgingCommunity.