The Active Aging Agenda, Old Folk Devils and a New Moral Panic

• Autores: Elizabeth C. J. Pike
• Localización: Sociology of sport journal, ISSN 0741-1235, Vol. 28, Nº. 2, 2011, págs. 209-225
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The proposal that older people should engage in “active aging” has come to dominate local, national, and international policy agendas. This encompasses a variety of ways that older persons might maintain active citizenship, but invariably promotes physical activity and exercise as having health and social benefits, despite a lack of conclusive evidence to support such claims. In this paper, I further examine the meaning of these claims through an analysis of policy documents, reports, and media articles which promote the perceived benefits of physical activity in later life. I revisit Cohen’s (2002) concepts of folk devils and moral panics to understand how these messages simultaneously problematize older people while creating a market for emergent moral entrepreneurs who claim to have the solution to the problem they have in part created. I conclude with recommendations for improved understanding of the benefits and appropriate provision for active aging.