A Generational View on Ageism

1. Ageism & The Internet?

I decided to post another poll this week, this time to get a generational view on ageism and on older adults. Unsurprisingly, when I asked my Gen Z followers to describe how they believe older adults view younger folks, I got many answers supporting what is continually reported: “entitled,” “annoying,” and “superficial” were among the most common answers, with one respondent emphasizing that older adults see Gen Z as “iPad Babies.” While it made me chuckle when I read it initially—after all, the iPad wasn’t even invented until most of us were in middle or high school—the responses are telling, and gesture toward a fact which fundamentally separates the generations by labels as silly as that one. Gen Z knows that their relationship to technology sets them apart from older generations, and lets it define both how they see older generations, and how they believe older generations see them.?

Gen Z use the Internet and social media to get information, to connect and to follow popular culture (it’s estimated that Gen Z spends 10.6 hours engaging with online content every day), and in doing so, they are primarily consuming content of those of similar ages, dispositions and levels of online fluency. In fact, just 20% of all online content creators are between 50 and 64 years old, and only 4% are 65 or older, according to the Pew Research Center. While it’s not a direct translation to how Gen Z perpetuates ageist assumptions (both onto themselves and to older adults), it could be a major factor. And my Instagram followers again reflected this idea, when as I asked how they would describe older adults, a respondent said “present (i.e. not continually on their phones).” It’s certainly a good thing to be present—and I think the respondent meant it to be—but it also means that, for now, the work of reducing ageist stereotypes that proliferate across social media is put upon those who use the sites the most, which is by and large young people. And even if Gen Zers aren’t iPad babies, they are certifiable iPad Adults, which is to say: chronically online, easily influenced, and thus, frequently wrong.?

As social media usage grows for Baby Boomers and Gen X, my hope is that more and more older adults will create and push their own platforms to help combat such stereotypes. And even if their views seem critical, young folks are willing to see those changes: one Harris Poll study revealed that 60% of Gen Z and Millennials love watching videos from 50-plus content creators. There’s certainly something to be said about the fact that older adults offer authenticity, rather than turning to technology and automation, to drive content creation.

2. Ageism & Politics?

In February, Jon Stewart returned to the Daily Show with a piece on the upcoming presidential election. Lovingly titled “Indecision 2024: American DeMOCKracy” (or, alternatively, “Indecision 2024: Electile Dysfunction”), Stewart relentlessly blasted both Trump and Biden for their signs of age-related decline—from moments of faulty memory, to Biden’s off-center TikTok presence, to the fact that both candidates have “no more age-related milestones to hit.” Throughout the episode, Stewart emphasizes again and again that the two candidates for this November’s election are the oldest to ever have run for office of the President in the history of this country—and only by breaking the record that they set four years ago.?

When I watched the episode, I can admit that some of the things I’d been feeling about the election, and how I knew my peers were feeling about the election, were being recognized. “We’re not suggesting neither man is vibrant, productive or even capable,” explains Stewart. “But they’re both stretching the limits of being able to handle the toughest job in the world.” And as I received the results of my poll this week, my Instagram circles shared that view: 75% of respondents believe that politics are the biggest source of friction between generations, with most respondents reporting that they are concerned older adults are making decisions on their behalf that do not reflect their needs. And that concern makes sense—it’s difficult for younger voters to connect with someone who isn’t authentic to their medium, and hard to trust that someone who comes off as a loving grandfather is able to meet the rigorous demands of being the Commander in Chief.?

But without a doubt, ageism colors both Stewart’s piece and the responses to my poll. In reality, Biden’s policy over the last four years has done a lot to answer the demands of the young: reducing student debt, putting forth climate legislation, creating the Inflation Reduction Act, and passing executive orders on gun safety are all key pieces of the progressive (and overwhelmingly young) vote. But since popular perception looms inevitably over any accomplishments made in office, there is a crucial knowledge gap between what the Biden campaign has done in terms of tangible policy accomplishments, and how that’s translated to young folks. In reality, Biden is fighting for exactly what most young progressives want to see—but most of them are unable to look past media perceptions and face the fact that aging, inevitably, brings change.

3. Ageism & Intergenerational Conflict?

When asked to describe how my Gen Z followers see older adults, a slew of negative connotations arose: “frustrated,” “selfish,” and “disrespectful,” to name a few. Yet if we recall how Gen Z believes older adults see them, similarly negative words came to the surface: “entitled,” “stubborn,” “annoying,” and “superficial.” Yet, despite the negative associations on both sides of the generational divide, 69% of my poll’s respondents are concerned about intergenerational conflict moving forward.

I find that fascinating. On one hand, Gen Z understands that older adults see them in a light that is not altogether fair, but are still willing to see older adults in the exact same way—all the while feeling the concerns of growing intergenerational tension. To me it suggests that although we’re worried about intergenerational conflict, we’re not doing all that much to combat it—and in fact even perpetuating it.?

I won’t theorize on points that extend far, far beyond the reaches of one Instagram poll, but beyond our misunderstandings, Gen Z still has a lot that they admire about older adults. “I think that we inspire them, and they inspire us,” one respondent said. They are “resilient,” said another. Among the names of older adults my peers admire, Jane Fonda and Angela Davis appeared more than a few times, and even Danny DeVito made the list (one which the respondent specified was “not a joke.”)