Senior moments.
You look good for your age.
Old people don’t “do” technology.
Ageism has come to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic, where older people have tended to be lumped into the same category, having the same skills and frailties. However, ageism can occur against any age group.
In response, Greater Cleveland Volunteers is letting the community know that it will continue to focus on engaging and serving older adults by advocating against age discrimination and showing the value of older adults.
Ageism exists because we have a fear of older people who remind us that we may be like them at that age, the organization said in a statement it recently released.
How many of these examples of ageism have you experienced or seen?
• Birthday parties with black balloons, “Over The Hill” slogan
• Anti-aging products
• Comparing to younger people, you look good for your age or you’re young at heart
• Having a “senior moment”
• Talking over the older older person and addressing a younger companion when the older one is present (for example, doctors, servers, etc.)
• Using patronizing language (sweetie, dear, honey) or name calling (geezer, gramps)
• Lying about your age to stay younger
• Assuming young are computer gurus and older adults are technology inept
• Describing the term “silver tsunami” to blame older for economic and social challenges
Greater Cleveland Volunteers offers these tips to become more age friendly:
• Drawing attention to negative attitudes, language and imagery
• Promoting all roles to all people, regardless of age
• Remembering that older adults are essential members of society
• Educating others to recognize age discrimination
The organization notes:
- It should no longer be acceptable to denigrate older people in any way
- It should no longer be acceptable to generalize about older people
- It should no longer be acceptable to discriminate against older people in any way
Watch for more from Greater Cleveland Volunteers on its website and social media posts.
