Reviews of the Old Age with the Eyes of Young Generation

This bachelor´s thesis deals with the issues of ageing process and old age from the point of view of the younger generation. The ageing is a natural process which takes place continuously throughout the whole life. It can be stated that the ageing process is characterized by irreversible changes that are physically visible to the unaided eye. The old age can be described as the last natural period of a human being which starts after the evolutionary stages of childhood and adulthood. The determination of the beginning of old age seems to be difficult, owing to the fact that the displays of old age appear for each individual at a different moment. The issue of old age is being neglected by our society and moreover, it is being generalized as a passive period of a human being. However, with regard to the predictions of the population development in the Czech Republic I believe that it will become a current and crucial issue in the following years. Higher proportion of people aged over 60 will have an adverse impact on the economy of the state. The society will have to cope with increasing demands on the area of social and health care. This bachelor´s thesis, mainly its empirical part, shall point to the fact how today's society perceives this neglected chapter of human life, which old age undoubtedly is. For research purposes persons in the age group between 15 and 25 years were selected who represented the younger generation. The theoretical part focuses on the objectification of terms which are important for the understanding of the given issue. In these chapters findings of a lot of authors dealing not only with the topic of old age are presented. Here we find terms such as intergenerational solidarity, generation X, Y, Z, myths, prejudices and stereotypes about old age and values and attitudes of the society towards old age. Furthermore, issues such as ontological human development /youth old age/, demographic situation of the Czech Republic and the ageing process including period of old age are described here. The empirical part devotes to own research which aims to determine the relationship of the younger generation towards old age. In order to obtain proper data the strategy of quantitative research has been chosen which uses the technique of questionnaire as a form of data collection. The gained data have been processed to transparent graphs and the below mentioned hypotheses have been tested statistically. For the research part the following hypotheses have been determined: Hypothesis 1: The perception of old age by the younger generation depends on the gender. Hypothesis 2: The opinion of the younger generation towards old age is influenced by existing myths and prejudices in the society. On the basis of statistical testing both proposed hypotheses have been refuted. The view of the last developmental period of a human being does not record any vigorous changes in both male and female gender of the respondents. In addition to that, it has been discovered that the younger generation does not make any judgments about old age on the grounds either of existing myths and stereotypes or prejudices in the society. Individuals who belong to young generation form their opinion on old age with the aid of gained experience. The aim of the bachelor´s thesis is to explore the opinion of the younger generation on old age. Furthermore, it has been examined how the views differ based on the gender and whether the younger generation is being influenced by existing myths and prejudices to old age. The set goals of this bachelor´s thesis have been achieved. The results of this bachelor´s thesis can be beneficial to the organizations dealing with the youth both in terms of teaching of students and practice