Ageism: Discrimination That’s Considered Acceptable

At 78 years old, Joe Biden became the oldest president in the United States to take the oath of office on January 20. Cue granddad joke here. Or, take a moment to reconsider. Whether or not one politically supports Biden, among the outcomes of the end of the Trump administration will hopefully be the close of an era of division and casual prejudice—led by a president who mocked the disabled and thrived on stoking xenophobic sentiment. And of course, most people know that bigotry against those of different ethnicities, sexual orientations, abilities, gender identities, or cultural backgrounds is unacceptable in 2021. However, one area where many of us still blithely trade in stereotypes is age. Ranging from “OK boomer” memes to open dialogue questioning the mental fitness of older people, including portrayals of the elderly in cartoons and sitcoms as out of touch and unstable, ageism is largely present in our society.

Ageism seems to be the last holdout of acceptable discrimination, even among liberals. Part of the reason for this maintained presence may be resentment among the younger generations who have struggled economically and feel that older generations had an easier time. Additionally, the younger generations tend to blame past generations for issues such as climate change. Another reason is the perceived harmlessness of ageist comments. Data, however, shows the opposite: ageism has serious effects on global well-being, so much so that it could be seen as a public health crisis.

According to a systematic review of over 13 thousand papers published in PLOS ONE, ageism caused a major decline in health in older people in 95.5 percent of its studies. Moreover, data published by the World Health Organization shows that one in six people over the age of 60 has suffered from abuse from those near them. According to the report, elder abuse “can lead to serious physical injuries and long-term psychological consequences.” In an example of an all too frequent occurrence reported by the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, an 84-year-old woman named Elaine was imprisoned in her own bedroom and verbally abused by her yard worker, who took control of her finances under the pretense of helping her domestically. In similar cases, many of the elderly have reported that they have been sexually assaulted as well. Much of this physical and sexual abuse stems from the notion that elderly people are easier targets due to their age. Often, older people are afraid to report cases of serious abuse, because they have developed a reliance on their caregivers and feel that their mental capacities might be questioned.

Many of us are not aware of the harms of ageism, because it is woven into our everyday attitudes, similar to the way casual sexism, racism, and homophobia are prevalent in our daily experiences. For instance, no one thinks twice about complimenting people of a certain age about how young they look or act. No one finds it strange that older people feel embarrassed to say how old they are on their birthday or dye their hair to conceal that it is turning gray. These might seem like trivial examples, but these everyday microaggressions and unthinking perceptions help contribute to an environment where age is devalued, which ultimately creates a risk for more serious abuses.

Instead, we might just as easily see it as a point of pride to have survived and thrived for a certain number of years and see gray hairs as a mark of experience and insight. One place to look for solutions might be in the attitudes toward age in certain countries. Studies have found that ageism is linked to the “individualism” of a country; the more a culture prizes independence and “forging one’s own path,” the more ageist it is likely to be. In an individualistic, competitive society, older people may just be seen as standing in the way. Their seniority rights, for instance, could pose an obstacle to the advancement of younger people. In contrast, cultures that emphasize collective cooperation, such as those found in China and Japan, are more likely to respect older people. Rather than being seen as out of touch, older people are traditionally seen as bearers of wisdom who help bind the community together and create continuity between different generations. This connection suggests a possible benefit of eliminating ageism: it may make us more cohesive in general and more community-minded. Productive interactions between older and younger people help tie society together and create links between the old and the new.

Of course, the burden to achieve this environment should not be solely on the young. While ageism is often understood exclusively in terms of discrimination against older people, younger people face discrimination as well. Many older people have questioned the work ethic and values of the millennial generation and Gen Z; however, two recessions in a row have made the situation tougher than ever for younger people just entering the job market. In fact, young adults who went through 2008’s “Great Recession” were loaded with debt and faced less job security than older Americans. Recessions have caused hiring managers to cut back on staff and unlikely to consider less experienced employees. As a result, young people have struggled to find full-time employment with benefits and are much more likely to be involved in part-time work and the gig economy. For this reason, wages for younger Americans (ages 16-24) have dropped in the last decade while those of older Americans (55 and up) have stayed flat—in part due to wage seniority, Social Security, and Medicare.

As a potentially economically disadvantaged group, Stuyvesant students should stand up against prejudice directed at us. Comments like “you’re too young to understand” or “young people these days are so lazy and obsessed with video games” should be met with a polite but firm response that the other party should not be so quick to stereotype an entire generation. However, resentment should not make us target an older generation, which faces its own hardship. We should be mindful of when bias is being expressed against older people and call it out, just like we would with racist, transphobic, and other toxic speech. Attitudes shift quickly when it is not socially acceptable to express bigotry. Ultimately, better intergenerational understanding would bring the same benefits that come along with other forms of diversity: different viewpoints and experiences joining together and benefiting from one another, rather than unfair judgment or exclusion.