Media and the aged (Opinion)

http://www.cybernoon.com/DisplayArticle.asp?section=fromthepress&subsection=editorials&xfile=December2006_mediawatch_standard173&child=mediawatch

Media and the aged

M.V. Kamath | Saturday, December 30, 2006 11:0:52 IST
The lack of magazines that are intended exclusively for old people
clearly suggests that media has completely ignored the aged


First it was 'Harmony', an Ambani production — or, at least, an
Ambani-supported production, meant to "celebrate age". Or may one say,
Old Age. An excellent idea, if ever there was one. Are there magazines
anywhere else in the world, which are intended exclusively for old
people? To tell them age is no barrier to live well, to be happy and
contented, to know what to eat and what not to, and to realize there
are always prospects for retired people to find work to keep them
going. 'Harmony', now in its third year, is a mine of information and
one can't thank it enough. It has a sense of values. Its 'mantra' is -
How to be successful though ageing. A recent issue deals with varicose
veins, Alzheimer's disease, ground realities of health insurance,
retirement resorts for those who can afford them, home visits from
healthcare professionals and even a spiritual discourse on mind over
body. The December 2006 issue is equally cheerful. There is apparently
a US-based society known as Red Hat Society whose membership is open
only to women over 50. And to think that it has about 1.5 million
members! Age fifty is considered "the youth of Old Age". As a matter
of fact, 50 is awfully young.

Poor Carter
It is interesting to be told that forty years ago when Lilian Carter,
mother of former US president Jimmy Carter applied to the Peace Corps
to serve as a public health worker in India, the idea of a 67-year-old
woman volunteering for a difficult job was considered so strange that
she was asked to undergo a psychiatric evaluation! Did they make a
similar test of Jimmy Carter when he came to Lonavla in Maharashtra to
build homes? That was a good story but strangely enough, the media
gave little coverage to it and one wonders why. Fancy a former US
president personally working on a building project! One supposes that
'The Times of India' would have given him third page prominence if he
had held a party at the Taj. Poor Carter: he must have returned home
disappointed. Our media has strange ideas of news. Old age is touch.
According to the December issued of 'Harmony', old people suffer from
abuse. Strangely enough, no one seems to have made a study of how old
people are abused in India but according to 'Harmony', in South Korea
(of all places) sons were responsible for than half the cases (56.3
per cent), followed by daughters-in-law (12.6 per cent) and daughters
(9.6 per cent). The elders who were abused said that 44.1 per cent
received verbal and emotional abuse, 23.2 per cent said they were
treated with indifference and an amazing 16.7 per cent complained
about physical abuse.
A similar survey in India seems called for. 'Harmony' is affordable; a
bare Rs. 30 but for many old people whose earnings have gone up in
smoke, that is a lot. 'Harmony' now has a good competitor in 'Complete
Wellbeing', a completely new magazine and very attractive to boot
though it is not age-specific.

The changing trends
The mantras: "Stay well" and that, one supposes goes for all
age-groups whether in the 18-30, 30-45, 46-60 or sixty plus bracket.
And the contents surely are intended to attract everybody. And the
watchword is: Sophistication. Sample ideas pursued: "Fizz up your love
life! Your innate drive for love depends on how you want it to be…"
"Bond Voyage: A truly enriching relationship is one that allows
individuals a sense of freedom to be who they are"; "Free the shy
string in your child: There is a wealth of potential trapped within
the heart and mind of every 'withdrawn' child". "Two sides of the same
coin: Spirituality and sexuality encompass two facets of our inner
spirit". So true and yet not many are willing to accept it. All the
articles deal with life as it is but the approach of all is novel. No
matter where we are on our spiritual path we can all live life better
with more light. There is so much enriching wisdom in the choice of
articles that it is difficult to put the magazine down. This is
journalism with a new face. Times change, views change… and so does
new journalism.
There is some sound advice for the ageing. Thus says a report: "A new
study on the relationship between memory and various lifestyles
behaviours shows that the best thing you can do to boost your memory
is switch off he TV set, eat more fish and try out a crossword puzzle
once in a while". Switch off the TV set? Will that help improve your
memory? May be. But that is what 'Complete Wellbeing' says and it
could be true. And cigar and cigarette-smokers beware: Tobacco,
apparently, is the second major cause of death in the world, currently
responsible for the death of one in ten adults worldwide. A bit
frightening, but that is the truth. But one does not have to worry
about death by whatever cause if one is constantly engaged with the
life spirit — and life itself. Take, for example, Anant K. shah. Anant
K. Shah? Who is he? 'The Week' (December 24) which has elected him as
Man of the Year says at 71 he gives "sight to the blind, voice to the
deaf and dumb and a leg-up to the disabled and the mentally
challenged". No wonder he is 'The Week's Man of the Year. The trouble
all these years has been that emphasis day-in-day-out has been on Page
3 characters, whose fame last five seconds and are then lost. Anant K.
Shah, one hopes will live up to be a full centenarian, considering
what he is trying to do in his old age.
At 71 Shah is honorary secretary of the Parsanben Narandas Ramji
Society for Relief and Rehabilitation of the Disabled, an umbrella
organization for the support of people with all types of disabilities,
in Bhavnagar, 200 kms. from Ahmedabad. And, believe it or not, nearly
2,000 people benefit from its programmes every day, from children who
get corrective surgery for polio, mothers who get training to teach
the deaf, the blind who get vocational training and even youngsters
who want a career in special education. And just imagine: so far the
Centre has given prosthetics to 2.5 lakh people and done 40,000 polio
corrective surgeries. So what does that say? What the story tells us
is that one does not need to indulge in self-pity at getting old.
There is, goodness knows, so much to do in so many ways and the aged
and the retired will never have to feel sorry. All that is required is
a will to work, not necessarily for money but for helping mankind. Old
Age is the time when one has time to choose, not so much a career
(though that, too, is permissible) as much as a new way of life, a
life of fulfilment. Instead of grumbling, think of Anant K. Shah. The
even the abusive son may have second thoughts.


--
Members of the ZESTMedia list exchange news and views about the media in 
Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan. Write to 
ZESTMedia@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTMedia by sending a blank 
mail to ZESTMedia-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by 
visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/

Get all ZESTMedia mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. 
Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to 
ZESTMedia-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your 
settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/

theZESTcommunity-------------------------------------------------

ZESTCurrent: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCurrent/
ZESTEconomics: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTEconomics/
ZESTGlobal: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTGlobal/
ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/
ZESTPoets: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTPoets/
ZESTCaste: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/
ZESTAlternative: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTAlternative/
TalkZEST: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TalkZEST/ 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/

<*> Your email settings:
    Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join
    (Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
    mailto:ZESTMedia-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
    mailto:ZESTMedia-fullfeatured@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    ZESTMedia-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/