‘Time Goes By’ is an appealing read that gives a perspective of ageing from the that are experiencing it at this very moment in time. Topics like ‘medical issues’, ‘wisdom’ and ‘the generation gap’ have many positive and negative qualities for older people. These three themes also provide a greater understanding of the complex issues facing the elderly from an everyday perspective throughout the blog.
The web page has a simple format and features a number of blog entries by the elderly commenting about real life experiences and perspectives of ageing in media reports, you tube, movies, news websites and other sources.
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After reading a post about the effects of heat on the body of a person above the age of 45, it was surprising to learn how a small problem for a young person like heat and using medication has a much bigger impact on the ageing. The post describes how the body temperature of someone older is not recognised as easily as that of a younger person. An older person may not know they are thirsty despite the hot weather.
Another interesting theme of some of the blog entries was ‘wisdom’ and ‘optimism’. One entry describes experiences of an elderly woman living with an abusive husband that had ruined the lives of her children and the family. A younger person may view this as tragic and the writer confirms the difficulties she has faced throughout her life. She leaves the reader with a message of hope as well and despite all the tragedy in her life, she is unable to look back only forward even if her future is short.
The generation gap is also confronted is an almost comic tone by one blogger. The writer describes the pleasures of silk undies, seagulls and cats, something that many younger people would also find very pleasurable. Young people without grandparents or contact with older people may view older people as not really being interested in such things. The post gives a much more personable view of the generation gap and challenges the view that the young and old are unrelated.
Overall the blog challenged the reader to think about what it is really like to age. Issues that are often viewed as positive about ageing may actually be not so great for some people and the reverse may also be true. Something that may be seen as a simple issue can be much more complex depending on the perspective of each elderly person. The blog confronts issues of optimism, the age gap and medical issues from a very human perspective and gives the reader the impression that aging is much more complex than what a younger person may think of it to be.
References
Time Goes By: What It's Really Like to Get Older. Web. 15 June 2013<http://www.timegoesby.net/>
