ABSTRACT
The American society has often been described as sustaining a stereotypic and negative perception towards older adults. Contrary to other types of categorization of individuals such as racism and sexism, ageism has received relatively insignificant attention. Ageism leads to discrimination in social-economic aspects such as medical attention, business, and social gatherings among others. This paper discusses the social separation of the old and the young people that leads to ageism. It also discusses ageism in the modern American society that was started by changes from agricultural to industrial based economies thereby rendering elderly land owners less powerful and authoritative in ...