Stating our age is known as a typical request of employers, bars, event venues, liquor stores, and more. The need to know people’s age is unfortunately integrated into our society’s ability to function.
It’s understandable, but not a perfect system by any means. At its root, requesting to know a person’s age is, in essence, requesting to have a scale by which we are able to judge them. Think about it, why else would age matter, if not to judge a person based on it? I take the standpoint that age is as superfluous as hair colour or height. It has no impact on an individual’s abilities, yet is often the subject of personal judgment.
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We must have tolerance toward all people, great and small. I think we can all agree, that it’s important to as a generation move away from prejudices rooted in stereotypes, racism, sexism, classism, and finally, ageism.
Ageism seems to be one of many prejudices that get swept under the rug, so to speak. But we all experience it at one point or another. It affects us all, and it is likely that we have all at one time contributed to it as well. As humans, we all have the desire to be and deserve to be understood. Ageism often gets in the way of this before we even have a chance to introduce ourselves.
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This applies to everyone. The young, the old, and everything in between. Which, by the way, is completely subjective! Even if you are someone in their 90s, in the bigger picture you are still very young.
Well, in comparison to a lot of things that is, such as the age of the Earth! Or the age of some old-growth trees, or even some sea turtles. It all depends on your perspective. The human lifetime is delicate, and minuscule in comparison to the timeline of this universe. How lucky we are to be able to gain a glimpse of it.
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Just because your hair is graying, and some wrinkles have made a home on your body, does not mean that you are automatically outdated or incapable of learning new knowledge. Yet, many are disregarded in this way. So many people 50+ struggle to find jobs that will hire them due to their age. Heck, even at 35 or 40 it’s tough to not be cast away by tech companies, etc… who are looking for young bright minds to influence.
Does this strike you as being unfair? It all depends on the circumstance, but I’d say around 90% of the time this sort of discrimination is uncalled for and plain rotten. As a company unwilling or reluctant to hire mature employees you are short-circuiting yourself as well as the candidate.
So much life experience and wisdom is being put to waste based solely on age. The same goes for the flip side of this situation. Many many times people who are profiled as being under 30 won’t be taken seriously by employers. This is a blatant demonstration of prejudice toward someone based on superficiality. A person’s age does not determine their level of experience, introspection skills, interpersonal/intrapersonal skills, etc.
An ability to think critically and act as a leader may come naturally to some, and others may fall into it at a young age out of necessity. It is not fair to assume that because an individual holds the appearance of youth, they are incapable. It is simply wrong and unjustified. What do you think?
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Young people experience discrimination in this area socially as well, not only from those older than them but from their peers. There are so many checkpoints that you are socially expected to reach by age 35, and if you haven’t met them yet then there’s something off with you.
Often times people will presume a person’s character based on age alone. If you’re a teenager then you are presumed to be rebellious and hormonal, if you are in your early 20s you are still naïve in how the world functions, if you’re in your 30s you are married with a baby (or two), if you are in your 40s you are past your prime, etc.. How absolutely silly! I DO NOT agree with these bold blanket statements.
It is common for these scenarios to take place, but they are not constants as is marketed to us. Some people marry young, and some marry later. And some don’t get married at all! The same goes for all areas of life. The habit of judging people based on their age is a terribly inefficient one if we really want to know a person.
There are infinite ways to live our lives, why conform to just one? The idea that there is a certain way that life must be lived creates shame where shame doesn’t need to be.
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In addition to this, our prime or “golden years” are completely subjective to our own perspectives and outlooks. I believe that we can be in a constant “golden year” state if we commit to living in the present and holding gratitude for all that has occurred and is yet to occur in our lives.
When you aren’t in the present, it is likely that you’ll wake up one day and wonder where the time went, and why you couldn’t know that you were living the best days when you were. And yet, how common it is for this to happen. I encourage us all to break this pattern and live our golden years consciously NOW. Embrace this day, because you won’t be able to repeat it.
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This is honestly a massive topic. One last point I’d like to bring to our attention, is how ageism is often promoted and reinforced through social media. I’m not talking about personal accounts, but rather business accounts that capitalize on dividing users based on their age groups.
I’m calling out all of the Millenials VS GenZ propaganda floating around nowadays, has anyone else noticed this? Online companies seem to love to encourage division amongst users online in a cringe attempt to gain ‘clicks’. This saturation of ageism disguised as innocent quizzes etc online creates biases among people and drills a false sense of identity into users who participate.
Does which decade you happened to of been born in really matter? NO. The labels we identify with only add to potential entitlement, discrimination, and prejudice down the road when faced with a diversity of ages. It’s difficult to avoid in todays society, and the first step in setting it right is in raising awareness.
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All in all, it is important to withhold any prejudices that are supported by societal norms and unrealistic expectations. This includes the matter of age, in that a person’s age does not reveal their level of competence or ability. It merely gives us a tiny hint as to what could be, but not what is.
We can all learn something from one another, no matter our age, and we all have unique sets of skills and abilities to offer. When someone asks my age today, sometimes I answer without hesitation, but other times I will respond with, “Why?” Or, “Why would you like to know?”. Try it, and see if they’re able to come up with a good answer. This will catch the person off guard and cause them to reflect on their seemingly innocent question.
When is a time that you experienced or witnessed discrimination due to age? Feel free to share via the contact page.
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