It’s embarrassing to admit it, but for a long time I struggled with opening jars, and taps, and anything that involved turning to open. It wasn’t that the jars were too tightly closed (although that can happen these days). It was the direction I needed to turn the lid. It was so useful when I came across the little rhyme, “Righty-tighty, lefty-loosey.” Other people probably knew this little trick years before I did. I was late to the party.
You Can’t Know It All.
Sometimes “common knowledge” is not as common as the term would suggest. There are so many things that we use regularly that we may not understand how to use properly. It would be impossible to know it all. For example, the electronic device fix of “turn it off, turn it on,” is familiar to most people. They know to try doing that when their cell phone or tablet is glitchy, but there are still some folks who don’t know. We can’t assume it’s common knowledge or shame people for not knowing.
Harmful Trend
Around 2019, there was a rise in an ageist trend on social media of younger folks picking on Boomers* for their fear and ignorance of all things technical from cell phones to the internet. It was, and is, a harmful trend. It creates a divide between generations. It dismisses older folks as irrelevant and doesn’t recognize the tremendous learning curve needed to keep up with technology.
This is a learning curve that is organically built into the lives of young people in school and in their jobs. For retired folks, they have to actively seek out this knowledge, and the younger folks in their lives are often the most obvious choice for support. With this “OK Boomer” trend, older folks fear appearing ignorant, and younger people start to make assumptions that Boomers are actively choosing to live in the past.**
A Promising Bridge
Older and younger generations have much to teach each other, if they can get past their prejudices. A new Australian reality TV show, Old People’s Home For Teenagers*** tries to bridge the divide between generations. It brings ten teens together with seniors ages 71-94 who live in a retirement village. During the episodes the teens and the seniors learn from each other, and with each other. They develop empathy and understanding for each other’s generation and so do those who watch the show. It’s heart-warming and optimistic.
I hope this idea catches on and a North American version of the show is developed. Let’s remove the shame of not knowing and embrace the joy of learning with each other.
Recently, what have you learned from someone who was in a different generation from yourself? Comment below.
*https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ok-boomer-ottawa-morning-1.5410930
**https://www.onrampacademy.com/post/boomer-to-bust-consequences-digital-illiteracy
***These are clips. Full shows are not available for those outside Australia.
Retired, And Now What? 