Age and Generational Discrimination

Age and generational discrimination are common in our society. In our society it is common for people to want to resist the fact that they are getting older. It is common for people to be in denial about their age, so they want to dress younger, lie about their age, and even get surgery. It is so common for people in our society to want to be young forever, there are multi-billion-dollar companies built on just the idea. For this it goes way beyond only lying to ourselves, healthcare companies have banked on this idea as well. Healthcare is more expensive for older adults, rather than younger adults. Healthcare utilization and cost increased with older adults in comparison to younger adults and continue to increase as you age across the lifespan. This fact has also led people to believe that older adults are looked at as a “burden” within the healthcare system. This could be due to the fact that older adults often need more medical procedures, rehabilitation, and expensive treatments meaning that this could also be a way to collect more money from people as they age. Another factor that contributes to age and generational discrimination is the fact that young children and their idea of growing old. Children as young as fourth graders have common negative views about growing old and old age in general. People perceive individuals who are older as more disabled then themselves. I am completely guilty of this as well, when I was a child, I thought of getting older as a curse, it was a version of myself that I never wanted to imagine myself being in. I never wanted to envision a life where I couldn’t do anything I wanted, had a hard time moving, and even struggling to get out of bed. I never wanted to see myself in that position even though I knew it was a normal part of life. It is hard for people to accept the fact that they are getting older, and one day may die. It is hard for some to face; therefore, they do anything they can to delay the process, but there is nothing we can do to stop it. One day we will be old and gray and will blessed that we even made it to that point.   

Although age and generational discrimination is common with older adults it is also common with younger adults and adolescents as well. It is common for older adults to view adolescents as naïve, immature, and incapable of making the right decision. Older adults often think that teenagers don’t know anything and will never have to face real hardships. The age and generational discrimination woks both ways, all ages view other ages a certain way, and even though it is not right it is apart of life.

Sierra Gray

Lifespan Development

April 23th, 2020