Starzenie się na Śląsku w perspektywie socjologicznej. Problemy teoretyczne i potrzeby badań
Aging Process in Silesia from a Sociological Perspective. Theoretical Issues and Need for Research

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the article is to discuss potential consequences of aging process of the population of Silesia. The text highlights certain theoretical problems of old age sociology associated with this issue and suggests areas of research in this field. The author analyzes the process of demographic aging on a mesostructural level. At the beginning of the text local conditions of the isolation and social integration of elderly people in the light of sociological theory and research accentuated in gerontological literature are emphasized. Potential problems of territorial (local) communities undergoing the process of demographic aging are discussed and illustrated by exposing demographic prognoses showing the dynamics of aging in Poland and in our region, analyzing the thesis of degradation of big city settlements that has been put forth by urban sociologists, and discussing the research and press articles on the lives of elderly inhabitants of such settlements. Problems such as the rise of old age enclaves, the potential risk of the formation of old age ghetto’s in aging housing environments, tribalism and the knottiness of the social capital of small, traditional communities gathering seniors in Upper Silesia are examined. The last part of the article, which addresses the issues of the social integration of elderly people in our region, shows the complexity of the social integration of this social category. The key issues are generational identity and the intergenerational transmission of cultural heritage and regional history.

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