One of the most common examples of the abuse of “generational thinking” that I have seen throughout my life has been the instance of “respecting your elders”, or the idea that because someone is older than you, that they know more about things in the world, and that a lot of times their behavior is acceptable due to their advanced age. I have seen this throughout my entire life and been frustrated by it. This frustration has come from the feeling of disrespect myself and many of my peers have experienced at the hands of those who are older. I do not believe in giving respect to those who have not earned it or are not deserving. Age is not a determining factor for deservance either; younger or older. For instance, on the common social media platform known as Tiktok, there are a lot of instances where people have caught footage of “Karens” or “Boomers” saying many obscene things towards people who are different (physically or otherwise), or people who are doing something they don’t want. Essentially, they are menaces to society in the worst way possible because they feel that in being older, and “wiser”, they are right
I feel that this “disrespect” of my elders I have developed is due to my access and exposure to more media and information as I have grown up. A luxury I am extremely thankful for. I feel it has kept me from being so ignorant and from accepting the abuse/disrespect of those who are older than me solely because of their age. This new sense of maturity and transition out of the “youth” demographic, or the eight year period of high school and undergraduate college established in 1969 where children remain dependent upon their parents (Pew 1), I feel has been one of my most valuable assets as I transition into the real world and the workforce. By not taking the abuse of those older than me just because of their age, I have trained myself to not take disrespect of those of “higher authority”, in places of work and education.
