Commentary
New York City (NYC) officials recently collaborated with the Department for the Aging and the Department of Education to launch a new curriculum designed to curb age discrimination in the city. The goal is to educate kids, to teach them that aging shouldn’t be viewed as a disease. Instead, it should be viewed as a natural part of being a human being, a chapter that should be embraced, not vilified.
In recent times, there has been little, if anything, positive to say about NYC. With increasing rates of violent crime and the rather ruthless crackdown on meat consumption, New Yorkers have many reasons to feel down. However, the introduction of this anti-ageist program is a news story worth applauding.
Initially, students at 13 Brooklyn high schools will learn about “ageism,” the practice of discriminating against a particular age-group, especially the elderly. If the pilot proves to be successful, the plan is to expand the anti-ageism curriculum citywide.
The importance of this program can’t be emphasized enough. Although ageism is a global challenge, the harmful practice is particularly prevalent in the United States, a country that’s getting progressively older. In 2009, the United States had 39.6 million people over the age of 65. By 2018, that number had risen to 52 million. By 2060, the country will have 95 million citizens over the age of 65.
At the same time, ageism is a growing problem. It’s one of the last “socially acceptable prejudices,” according to the American Psychological Association (APA). Discriminating against older people not only contributes to an ever-worsening mental health crisis (pdf), but it also means older folk lose out on potential earnings.
Ageism also results in lost gross domestic product (GDP). The advocacy group AARP released a study (pdf) in 2020 that found bias against workers aged 50 and older reduced the nation’s GDP by an estimated $850 billion. By 2050, the annual loss could amount to $3.9 trillion, according to the AARP. Nearly 80 percent of older employees in the United States have experienced some form of ageism. This includes cases of “everyday ageism,” like telling a 50-year-old that she “looks good for her age.”
As obvious as it sounds, a society that promotes ageism, either implicitly or explicitly, is engaging in a form of societal self-harm. After all, whether we like it or not, we are all getting older. To idly stand by and fail to address the growing problem means that many—if not all of us—will fall victim to the pernicious practice. This is just one of the reasons why the NYC program is so vital.
Another reason why the NYC curriculum is so important involves digital platforms. As a peer-reviewed paper in the journal Convergence clearly demonstrates, digital platforms have made the problem of ageism many times worse. App creators and other digital gurus, according to the researchers, almost always use younger individuals as points of reference when creating services and/or products. They, intentionally or otherwise, omit older individuals from the conversation.
Another peer-reviewed paper, published in 2021, noted how popular social media platforms specialize in the creation of “antagonistic stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination against older adults.” The “OK boomer” catchphrase, which originated on TikTok, is a prime example of sarcasm and virality combining to spread an ageist message. The average American teen, online for almost 9 hours every single day, is being bombarded with ageist content.
Dr. Diego de Leo, an academic who has studied the deleterious effects of ageism on broader society, told me that “old age, sickness, and physical decay seem to be components of life no longer represented in Western societies obsessed with youth and beauty.” In a consumerist, digital-driven culture “that strongly values youth and physical efficiency,” he added, “older adults are perceived as a marginal and incongruous presence, perhaps even completely useless.” This didn’t use to be the case. There was a time, not that long ago, when elders were held in high regard. Those days, however, appear to be drawing to a close.
Ageism has a catastrophic effect on people’s physical and mental health. Victims of ageism report higher levels of loneliness and social isolation; moreover, they are at greater risk of suicide. One study found people with a positive outlook on aging lived a median of 7.5 years longer compared to those who viewed aging in a negative light.
The NYC curriculum deserves much more attention. Although, one wonders if targeting children at a younger age might prove to be more beneficial. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), children as young as 4 begin to internalize our culture’s age stereotypes. Interestingly, this is the same age many children in Western countries, the United States included, start using digital devices. Nevertheless, the NYC program, the only one of its type in the country, is something worth celebrating and promoting. Hopefully, other schools across the country will follow suit.
In these polarizing times, with Americans clashing heads over various issues, including divisive school curriculums, an anti-ageing curriculum is something all Americans, regardless of their political ideologies, can get behind.
Dr. de Leo agrees. Although we may never entirely eradicate ageism, he suggests that a curriculum like the one being rolled out in NYC would certainly help in “the fight against ageism.” It “would aim at giving dignity and meaning to old age.”
He’s right. It would. Surely, this is something worth fighting for. After all, the only way to combat ageism is through educating people, teaching them that aging is a natural part of the human process.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
