Do you like to be treated as a piece of junk when you grow older?

Question

No . Aren't you?

But most of the elders today stay silent saying that the younger generation don't listen to us.

Will it happen to us one day? Will you stay in a nursing-home with other elders playing cards?

I have heard and feel that most young people (including my friends) say that older generations (grand-generation) know very little compared to us. But I think that they have more experience than us and they have the capable of advising the younger generations in their problems.

"Rocky Balboa(2006/7)" comes into my mind which shows the pressure and the sadness of elders.

Answer 1

Each generation has it's own "culture" and most "older" people don't understand it.  It's always been that way.  Should the older people try to "act" like the younger people?  No--that doesn't work.  You have to be yourself, examine your motives, and treat everyone with respect.  Will we end up in a nursing home playing cards?  No one knows their destiny, and God in His wisdom has made it that way.  Our lives our in His hands and we have to live in faith and strive to do the best we can for this world we live in.

Answer 2

I have been treated as a piece of junk at many times in my life, so I am used to the idea if not exactly delighted. Usually the people treating me like junk were "elders", too.

Also I don't see how I am supposed to buy a house or live because the "elders" have selfishly pushed prices up for their own financial gain.

However I will continue to treat people on a person-by-person basis, and not generalise.

Answer 3

Yes and it is getting worse.  The older generations were/are more pure humans.  Many had it harder, have better values, morals & work ethic.  Today we are more shaped by tv/media and "programmed" what to do/think/act.

Answer 4

i disagree

elders when they were young did not have to go through things we had to

like young people have SOOOOO MUCH PRESSURE on there exams and things

and popularity is a huge thing

but on the other hand we do not have to go through things that they had to like being hit in school

much more strictor

Answer 5

Most of us live in a culture/society where "new" and "young" are revered, leading to the disenfranchisement of the aged.  We are stuck on what is fast and shiny and technologically advanced.  Wisdom and experience are not viewed as s**y.  And the information that comes with wisdom can't be put into a 30 second sound bite.  So it is discarded, along with those who have it.  It does not have to be this way.  There are/have been cultures in which the knowledge and experience of elders is valued and sought after.  Unfortunately, we value and seek celebrity more than wisdom.

Answer 6

No. but old age is the time when you're nearer to death. so no worries.

Answer 7

i dont think anyone wants to be treated as a junk.

but most people nowadays treat them as so,

perhaps because its the culture, hardly anyone call their parents mum or dad now, preferring by name or by nicknames. kids grow up, not to respect they kids, hence, treat them like junk.

i do not deny that i do detest some elderly.

and that is because they love to play hard.

the older one gets, the childish one seems to act.

elderly seems to be very dependent on others even if they are perfectly healthy,

just to gain attention.

but i do believe, if we put in some effort,

including educating our next generation , i believe future elderlys would be well treated.

Answer 8

I think U.S. (and perhaps British) culture put way too much value on youth. I'm glad children and teenagers today have outlets to express themselves, but let's not treat them like they are some fountain of wisdom. Ditto on celebrities. Kids are great, but they are dopey and awkward, and "youth worship" leads to a shallow society.

Young people need to be taught, once again, to revere the wisdom of their elders.

Answer 9

N.A.  Fortunately I have the advantage of never having to deal with the 'grow older' concept.

Answer 10

Whats this got to do with gender studies? Anyway, yes ageism is just another form of discrimination. Although you do get old people who have inverted ageism who treat younger people like they are nothing. In a queue for the bus these old people just barged in front of me, how rude!

In the UK we have a big problem with the elederly being treated disgustingly in nursing homes and hospitals. It's definitely something that needs to be fought against.

Answer 11

I am sure we will be disrespected for the most part when we are old just like old people are now disrespected. in fact, we will probably be treated even worse. Have you seen the brats we are raising these days? I think it is horrible that we do not respect our elders in this society.

Answer 12

I agree. the elder are very wise. And yes they do know more than us young ppl. Just because we are technology freaks doesnt mean we know more than the elder. the elder have knowledge we can learn from. Our knowledge is pointless trivia. But us younger generations are also more open minded so we kinda all  balance out.

Answer 13

I completely agree.  I really think we could learn a lot from older generations, especially this one.  They have so much more life experience than many younger generations....Not just exams and popularity, those are petty.  Things like the Great Depression, War, skipping meals because your family can't afford food, the uncertainty of the nation as it went through the many civil rights changes, etc. are REAL problems.  Who they h**l thumbs uped that guy?

I suppose it is all situational, but right no my family is trying to convince my grandmother NOT to go to a nursing home.  She has had little health problems and a recent fall has really shaken her confidence.

Answer 14

Conni has said it all for me. More over, is it every old person that ends up in a nursing home, is it every culture that treats their olds with abandon and disrespect, is it every old person that becomes totally incapable. Address your own fears and insecurities based on your own experience but also learn that ill-founded generalisations should only dwell in the armpits of ignorance.

Answer 15

I have seen alot of kids here on YA that tell anyone over 25 to stay off because we are too old and don't know anything (and Bill Gates is older than I am!).  This, despite the fact that all they know, they learned from us.  Life is a journey of learning; how can it stop at 25?  I have several degrees and am not finished because there are other courses of study I'd like to pursue, including sociology.  Kids say we don't know as much because they think that because they are a different generation, society is different.  I agree, but at the same time disagree.  I hear this from my daughter all the time (and said it to my folks, as well).  Yet, whenever I give her advice that she poo-poos, she has to come back and say, "Mom, you were right."  Yes, there is different music with a diffrent message (some of which I also listen to), but "human nature" stays the same and evolves very slowly.  This is why "listen to your elders" has been a saying for hundreds of years.

Answer 16

Of course not. I believe each generation can learn from each other. Us middle-age folks lived the history that the younger set is reading about. Been there, done that. We can flesh out the details about who, what, when, where, and how. We have a lot to offer from our experiences and wisdom.( If we are lucky enough to have gained some.)

Likewise, the younger generation is more in tune with the latest technologies and devises, and can teach us.

For instance, my Dad, (who is 78) recently said that he knows nothing about computers. So, I can teach him the basics. He was an airplane mechanic back in the 50's; he can teach me about the historical changes in aviation.

No one is junk, we all have something to offer.