To: McRhon
Forum reply 1

Ageism

I agree with you about the point that current generation forgot achievements of elderly people; without hard work of past generation, modern youth would not have all those modern technologies.  As research confirms, “ageism harms older adults’ physical and mental health” (Abramson, 2020).  I am wondering why the shift in thinking that elderly people are a treasure is so hard to make.
During Covid-19 all ageism stereotypes got so prominent. In Italy the ambulance went to younger people more frequently than to elderly because they believed that younger need more help, and they have more chances not to die.
Abramson, A. (2020). “How ageist beliefs undercut us all”. https://www.apa.org/topics/covid-19/ageist-beliefs

Post-reflection: I recommend you reading this article:
Kelley, S. (2019). Education, interaction with older people reverses ageism. https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2019/06/education-interaction-older-people-reverses-ageism

The study claims that "intergenerational contact, combined with education about the aging process and its misconceptions, worked best at reducing ageist attitudes". I wonder what you think about this idea.