“I hope I don’t have to work when I’m that old,” she said, her face showing signs of concern. This is a real issue for my co-worker. Divorced and in her 50s, she doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to retire.

What’s more, she must stay on her feet. The majority of desk jobs require an exponential knowledge of computers, a skill many of our older people are lacking.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of elderly people in the United States has risen substantially in the last 100 years. In 1900, 1 in 25 people were over the age of 65. Today, 1 in 8 is a senior citizen.

The main factor contributing to this jump was the advancement of medical technology, bringing our average life expectancy to 77 years. During the founding of our country, people were expected to live no more than 35 years.

So why don’t we hear more about issues our older population is facing? Personally, I think it might have something to do with the way our society views them as a whole.

Instead of taking care of our older people, we try to squeeze as much money out of them as we can. And with a large portion of our nation’s wealth in the hands of retired people, it’s easy to understand why they’re being targeted.

I was reminded of this while looking up statistics for this article. Type anything with the word “elderly” into google and you will be bombarded with scooter and wheelchair ads.

A glance at the google ads down the right hand side of the Web page gave even more options on how to “be self-sufficient again.”

Ageism is becoming a huge problem in the U.S., and perhaps one of the most ignored.

The only way to combat this issue is to stop thinking of our older generation as useless additions to society. These people have more knowledge and wisdom about life than me, a 22 year-old soon-to-be college graduate. Yet, we push them away and ignore the issues that they are facing.

In Botswana, the first gray hair someone grows is considered a sign of good luck. Yet in America, we rush to the hair salon and cover those gray hairs.

What is so shameful about the natural aging process? Nothing. What is shameful is that our society has given aging a bad reputation. And because of this, some of our older population strives to mask their age by dying their hair and investing in wrinkle creams and plastic surgery.

But how can we blame them? Why would they want to be seen as useless?

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