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The Swedish welfare society has made older people more active both physically and intellectually than 30 years ago. That’s what Ingmar Skoog, director of the Center for Aging and Health at the University of Gothenburg, says.
– A 70-year-old man is on the go and deals with life, he says.
One in five Swedes is 65 or older, according to a report by the National Board of Health and Welfare. The number of people aged 65 and over is expected to increase in Sweden, from 2 million in 2020 to 2.5 million in 2030.
Ingmar Skoog compares today’s 70s and 20s, where the younger group wants to check off a list before settling down and having kids, while the older ones want to catch up on things before they get too old.
– Many travel and are active, he says.
After the end of the working life, many take the opportunity to travel.
Photo: Nora Lorek / TT
In the past, a person turning 50 traditionally received a cane as a birthday present, today the 50th anniversary can be a wild party.
– People see and behave younger. It is connected to our welfare society, says Ingmar Skoog.
But despite better Health, the way you look at people who have reached a certain age has not kept up, according to Ingmar Skoog. It says there is significant age discrimination.
– Sweden is in last place when it comes to the vision of the elderly and society does not use the capacity of the elderly. There are many prejudices, she says.
In Sweden, few members of parliament are over 65, says Ingmar Skoog. He likes to compare himself to the United States, where the top two candidates for this fall’s election, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, are 74 and 77 respectively. The American equivalent of state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, Anthony Fauci, is 79 years old.
– It’s strange that we have some kind of youth culture in Sweden, says Ingmar Skoog.
Ingmar Skoog, director of Age Cap, Center for Aging and Health. He is chief physician and professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry.
Photo: Johan Wingborg
During the pandemic has People over the age of 70 have received special advice because old age is a risk factor for becoming seriously ill and dying from Covid-19. In May, 90 percent of those who died from COVID-19 were over 70 years old, according to the National Board of Health and Welfare, and about half of those who died lived in nursing homes. But Ingmar Skoog criticizes how communication has been around the elderly.
– The more than 70 people have been arrested with a comb. Older people are flagged as weak and frail and encouraged to stay home, he says and continues:
– It sounded like you are blowing on an older person, the person collapses. The pandemic has exaggerated the risks. Sure, there are older people who are frail and insane, but that’s a small part. The older you get, the better you assess the risks.
Older Swedes feel better than in other countries. Contact with children and grandchildren is often underestimated
With the experience of age more and more involuntary loneliness, which in turn increases the risk of mental illness, according to the National Board of Health and Welfare. Every tenth person who is 75 years or older is considered socially isolated in Sweden. This means that the person is not with friends, family or acquaintances more than a couple of times a month. Loneliness is experienced more in older people who live in special dwellings than in people who live at home and have the help of home care. In special dwellings, 47 percent say they feel annoyed by loneliness, among those who live at home and have home care, 40 percent say they feel alone.
But according to research Ingmar Skoog has done with several others, it is a stubborn myth that older Swedes suffer from loneliness to a greater degree than in other countries, despite many single households.
– Older Swedes feel better than in other countries. The contact that exists with children and grandchildren is often underestimated, he says.
Maria Edström, Associate Professor at JMG, University of Gothenburg, conducts research on how the elderly are portrayed in the media. She says there is a pattern that shows people disappearing from media coverage in relation to retirement.
– Interviews are usually based on a professional role. People who are out of the job market are seen as not having much to offer anymore, he says.
Women appear less frequently in the media already at the age of 50-55, according to Maria Edström.
Maria Edström, Associate Professor at JMG, Department of Journalism, Media and Communication, University of Gothenburg.
Photo: Photographer Johan Wingborg
The picture of The older person pictured is someone frail and in need of help or a sensational marathon runner, she says.
– It easily becomes stereotyped images, although the variation within the group of older people is large
Maria Edström says that there is an appeal in youth and an ignorance of what it is to grow old.
– It is probably some kind of fear of death; talking about aging is also approaching death.
They have spoken of “our elders” with a condescending language that has been infected.
She says that there are cultural perceptions even though we have all ages in us.
– As we age, we also become wiser and more interested in seeing things in a different way.
The restrictions around The pandemic has exposed the image of people who have reached a certain age, he believes.
– They have spoken of “our elders” with a condescending language that borders. I think it’s interesting that you set a limit at a certain age. It’s not really about age, but about failing functions, he says.
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