Reverse ageism

We seniors know all about ageism: we live with it every day. But it turns out we’re not the only group being discriminated against because of age.

Increasingly, young people face discrimination too, particularly in the workplace. It’s not just that they are expected to stay humble as they learn the ropes from their more experienced colleagues. Today’s millennials and Gen Z workers also have to confront the perceptions that they are lazy, entitled, and disloyal – views that can hold them back in their careers.

Negative attitudes towards young people may extend beyond the workplace. Are we retired seniors guilty of reverse ageism? Have we ever doubted the competence of a young doctor or physiotherapist or counsellor, thereby creating barriers to treatment? Have we ever contemptuously dismissed the young because we think they lack the maturity and understanding that we feel can only come with experience?

Sometimes we seniors may disparage young people and dismiss their views, because we feel our life experience makes our own views more valid. In some respects, this may be true. Through a lifetime of experience, observation, building relationships and testing ourselves, many seniors have developed a deep understanding of human nature, what motivates people, what gives most satisfaction in life, how best to relate to our families, friends, colleagues, the broader community, power structures, what we feel we owe to others, and what others owe us. We can take a long historical view, and recognize what has been tried before, what has failed and what has succeeded. Many of us have learned patience and acceptance from the school of hard knocks. Most of these lessons come slowly, with time and reflection. We can mentor or support other people on this journey, but in the end we each have to learn these things for ourselves.

On the other hand, a lot of our life experience trained us to live in a very different world. Family structures, technology, the work environment, social values have all changed since we were young. We never had to deal with social media or the gig economy. Events of the last few years have opened our eyes to an awareness of unearned privilege many of us didn’t know we had, and forced us to consider the injustices and inequalities that our society has accepted, either unthinkingly or deliberately. As we build our lives, we often become more and more invested in the values on which they were based. We may feel we can’t afford to critique them and devalue our lives. So we may decide to forgo truth, and just listen to what we want to hear. Look how the world responds to Greta Thunberg and the other young climate activists. They don’t yet have a legacy to defend, so they can see the issues clearly. Their message is simple: listen to the science. But the media and politicians and the fossil fuel industry and other entrenched players will not look beyond their short-term interests, not even for the sake of their children, and so they lie and obfuscate and manipulate numbers and vilify the messengers.

You know what they say: there’s no fool like an old fool. Prove them wrong.