Ageism is a commonly neglected phenomenon among the ‘-isms’ that afflict
society. It refers to the stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination against
ourselves or other people based on age. Ageism is one of the most
prevalent forms of prejudice experienced by adolescents with inadvertent
consequences both to their physical and mental states. When one calls it
out, the knee-jerk reaction to it is mostly – “Those are the rules. Kindly
follow…”. There is never an appreciation of the adolescent’s feelings or
capacities; finally, they are obliged to conform to the custom (according to
the so-called ‘adults’). These constant condescending remarks put
unnecessary pressure on the growing intellectual mind, particularly during
the adolescent stage.
In India, Ageism manifests at an early stage. The Annual Status of Education
Report 2021, portrays a grim picture. Our age-old norm with a focus on age
rather than on ability forces a nine-year-old with the intellectual capacity
of a six-year-old pressurized to follow an age-appropriate curriculum. This
has dire outcomes in the form of school drop-outs, notably during the
adolescent stage where age and class have a direct mismatch with the
learning levels of the student.
The UN report on Ageism released in 2021, warrants the need for urgent
action towards an unbiased society. It conveys a message that the younger
generation is discriminated against at the workplace for being supposedly
‘narcissistic’, ‘lazy’ or ‘easily distracted’, the study whose prevalence was
based on a survey of over 83,000 individuals in 57 countries between 2010
and 2014. A similar scenario can be seen among those aged 15-24 years in
the European Social Survey (2008-2009) who reported experiencing the
most unfair treatment due to age than discrimination based on gender,
race, or ethnic background.
Very little is known about the scale, determinants, and impact of ageism on
younger people especially in the Indian subcontinent. Future priorities for
improving our understanding of ageism, especially among adolescents
should be implemented by monitoring it in institutions so that actions can be
taken in the right direction.
silverliningsdoc 