THOUGHTS
Confessions of a Gen Y Kid: Anti-Kiddie Ageism
The signs were always there. But naive little me just chalked it up to “exercising authority”…
Back in 2021, I released a four-part series of anthological memoirs entitled “Confessions of a Gen Y Kid.” Through these recollections of my youth, I gave readers a glimpse into four main areas related to my Millennial upbringing: K-12 Education, Pop Culture, Electronic Media, and College Life.
Recently, however, I’ve been ruminating a lot more about ageism. Specifically, anti-youth ageism. Via my “Jigsaw Gens” series on Medium, I’ve undertaken the historical exercise of juxtaposing the life experiences of those from adjacent generational cohorts.
Most people don’t think about these deeper layers of ageism. They take it for granted that their generation is “the best” — or, for self-loathing folks out there, “the worst.”
Sort of like glorifying one’s favorite season of Saturday Night Live.
Why do I feel such a passion for helping people to overcome their ageism? Regardless of from which direction ageism flows, it drives us apart. It creates artificial barriers where there really shouldn’t be any.
