It is not deniable that today majority of attention is focused on the youth of society. Walk by any bus stop or open up any newspaper and there are young models printed all over the pages and billboard. The emphasis we place on the youth of our society is to an extent that we completely neglect the older generation of our society. There are several cases where the older generation is denied jobs or are discriminated against at the workplace. All this might prove that we scorn the old, however, it is important to remember that the older generations contribute to society in their own ways.
The youth are believed to be the future of our society and this is reflected in our fascination with the young people. It is important that the older generation is given the same importance and the emphasis is shifted from youth to youthfulness. However, this is not being practised in today’s society where people believe that the young are interesting and the older people should be done away with because they do not bring any novelty in the society. The mindset of people and society proves that we scorn the old, and create hindrance in the way of the older generation to prove their worth in society.
The media is also responsible for promoting these attitudes where the younger generation is given too much attention while none is given to the older generation. For instance in Singapore the leading newspaper The Straits Times has a whole page intended only for the youth while there are no such devoted pages for the older generation. One reason for this attention to the youth can be attributed to the fact that they are considered the future of society. On the other hand, the only news which features the older generation is their abandonment from their own homes or lack of job opportunities. This exactly reflects the conditions in our society and how we scorn the old. On the other hand, the younger generation is given significant importance while the old people are neglected completely.
In spite of this, believing that the older generation is only neglected is completely disingenuous and can lead us to biased views. It cannot be forgotten that media has to feature young and fresh faces in newspapers, TV and magazines because they lead to great profits. On a surface level, these issues portray the youth of society but if one looks closely then there are articles for the older generation sometimes which provide them with plans on how to save money after retirement. One of the reasons for not having a place in these features can also be because of their constant lifestyle which is not very newsworthy. But all this does not insinuate that the older generation is idle and inactive, and therefore completely disregarded by society, it’s just that they contribute to society in other ways and are occupied with activities that do not always feature in the media. For instance, in Australia, there are many activities conducted by the elderly and their pleasurable amity is enjoyed by all. The older generation has abundant knowledge about skills which are lost today like knitting, the younger generation turns to the older generation for learning these skills. Hence, it is not true that we scorn the old, many believe that they are a vital part of our society and are respected.
Though the youth is believed to be the future of society, they are still immature and need the guidance of the older generation. It is often seen that the youth often commit mistakes and sometimes even indulge in anti-social behaviour, this even leads to taint their image as the representatives of our society. The rash behaviour is often criticised by the older generation, these objections are often interpreted by the younger generation as finicky views which obstruct their liberty and preferences. However, the views of the old are not finicky as they speak from their experience and have passed through the stage of youth too. We scorn the old and do not respect their opinions. The older generation has a grain of truth in their concerns but their statements are not taken seriously by the youth today and their concern for the youth is interpreted as troublesome. Hence, older people have a lot of wisdom which if taken seriously by the youth can benefit them in a long term.
In spite of the popularity the youth have gained in society, it is irrefutable that the older generation has contributed to society immensely. Many countries have started to understand the benefits of the older generation and how their skills can be helpful to the youth. Many countries like Britain have policies that safeguard the rights of the elderly. While Singapore Airlines continues to hire young girls to boost its business, there is British Airways which still gives importance to experience and has a staff that has proven themselves these attendants are not young like the Singapore Girl but have more experience and knowledge than them. In times of emergency, the older attendants are considered to be a preferred choice because of their confident attitude and experience. Unfortunately, there are companies that remove their employees once they are not young anymore. Many replace the older generation’s wisdom with the young generation’s new ways in the companies. In this way, we scorn the old, even after their significant contribution to their workplace. It is important that the companies make policies which enable the young generation and the old to work together so that both can learn something from each other. However, many companies do not understand this and therefore not many policies like these exist. Hence, it is important that the old and the young generation are given a chance to work with each other as they both can bring different perspectives to the workplace.
In conclusion, it is important to understand that both the old and the new generations are given importance as both are a vital part of society. The younger generation should understand that the older generation has many pearls of wisdom and should take every opportunity to learn from them. It is also important that the older generation also takes into consideration the views of the young generation to keep up with the new generation and form a fresh and innovative perspective on things.