The elderly perception of old people: the case of Antalya/Finike and Polonya/Rzeszow

The history of humanity is facing a process of demographic change for the first time. In this historical development and the process of transformation, throughout the world; the increase in the number of elderly people, reduction of the birth rate, every day that goes by improving of the medical technology and hygienic conditions are the significant factors. Although the number and the proportion of elderly population in the developed countries are higher, the potential of the elderly population will be constituted by developing countries such as Turkey in the future. This change in demographics should not be seen just as a quantitative change. The social, economic, political and cultural structures, as a creator of the social system, are affected by this change. The aim of this study is to discuss how the cultural factors that affect the perception of the elderly, that is, trying to obtain the knowledge about cultural similarities and differences in the perception of the elderly. The two-stage fieldwork was carried out firstly in the city of Rzeszow, Poland, and the other was carried out in Finike, a county of Antalya. In fieldwork, the survey methods used as data collection techniques. In addition, all work was supported by rich literature. When viewing the results of the study, although some differences exist, extreme differences are not observed. The responses according to the cities they live in and their gender have revealed the conclusion that there are similarities in the perception of the elderly between the two cities. Key words: Cultural Differences, Social Gerontology, Social Change, Old, Elderly Perception.