There has been an undeniable yet unrecognized competition between older and younger generations. The rivalry is not anything new; it is an issue that has extended through several centuries. These issues always begin one-sided – the elderly shaming the youth for changes that were not caused by the youth themselves. Eventually, the shame instigates a feeling of guilt and anger, causing the younger generations to contribute to the issue. Generally, inevitable change is the common factor that causes the cycle of shame to carry through centuries.
Change is a cyclical process. The Transtheoretical Model (TTM), also known as the Stages of Change Model, established the idea that change is not something that one adheres to hastily and decisively. Rather, it is a process that occurs constantly, in an everlasting loop. Although this study focused on behavioral patterns, the conclusions drawn apply still to the concept of change as a whole.
Since the beginning of time, change was the only factor of life that remained constant. By the time one generation reached late adulthood, the youngest generation would be toying with technologies that did not exist during their elders’ youth. As observed by the TTM, older generations have difficulty adapting to differences in their environment, whereas the people born into it are accustomed naturally. With change progressing even more rapidly, larger gaps are developed amongst each generation. The young, old and those between are filling these gaps with resentment; ageism.
Ageism is, essentially, discrimination against an individual or a group purely based on their actual or perceived age. According to Julie Henry, a mental health consultant at Beaver County Pathways, institutional ageism can exclude individuals from opportunities, and it may even deny someone the ability to be hired or fired. The idea of ageism ties greatly into the generalizations, or stereotypes, people create for different age groups.
The process behind the creation of stereotypes is complex, but it all boils down to assumptions. Stereotypes are founded on a widely accepted, yet overly simplistic, assumption of, in this case specifically, a group of people. Generalizations are not always formed based on malicious intent, however. Paul Bloom, a psychology professor at Yale University, stated that they only turn morally wrong when, “a system that has been evolved to make generalizations in certain circumstances…go wrong in other circumstances.”
When it comes to age, people often assume that younger generations consume social media content religiously. This itself is not an ill-intended stereotype – it appears to be partially true. According to CTRLCare Behavioral Health, approximately 90% of teenagers use social media. It is where this stereotype is applied that causes an issue.
By demonizing technology, older generations deem “millennials” and “generation Z” to be lazy, unintelligent and incapable of doing any laborious task. These assumptions stem from those who grew up in a time where entertainment could only be found through books or outdoor activities, and a time where parents were more critical of their children. The younger people of now are growing up in a more accepting, technologically advanced time. The differences, hence, spark the competition between ages. In mere decades alone, technology is a solitary factor – in addition to many others – that has advanced drastically, creating an inevitable gap in similarities between the elderly and youth.
“Technology has changed how we socialize, seek information and entertain. Everything is now at our fingertips without leaving our chair. Older generations had to put forth the effort to reach out via a landline and talk to a friend’s parents before getting to talk to their friend. Now we all have our own phone and we can reach each other so quickly,” Henry said, “In my personal and professional life, I see older people struggle with technology, while younger people embrace it. Older people are comfortable with face-to-face or phone conversations, while some younger people have mostly online friends all over the world.”
Change in technology, although responsible for most of the greatest progressions in society, is also responsible for a strain between older and younger generations. Considering how sudden change happened in this one subject alone, the consequences of other components amplify the impact of this singular progression even more.
In technology and other factors, change is the sole consequence of the stereotypes developed for the younger generations. Therefore, also contributing to the overarching issue; ageism. This does not necessarily mean change will ultimately lead to poor outcomes, though. Without undergoing change of any kind, civilizations entirely would simply not exist. It is an undeniable fact that people find great difficulty in adjusting to a constant cycle of change. Now that that cycle is looping swiftly, those who were born before the advancements struggle to accept that the cycle will continue to spin. The only way ageism will fail to exist is when people learn to adapt to change without denial, since the one aspect of life that is guaranteed to never change, is change.