People Are Venting About The Frustrating Double Standards Of Ageism And It's Quite Eye-Opening

The discrimination and prejudice based on a person's age, also known as ageism, is frequently overlooked as just a stereotype.

Ageism spreads negative attitudes and misunderstandings, creating divisions in society and holding back progress toward a more inclusive and fair society.

So, I asked the BuzzFeed Community, "Share your frustrating experiences with ageism." Here's the feedback from the community, as well as some comments from some Reddit users:

1."Incidents of everyday ageism are too many to post here, everything from comments, ageist language, stereotypical or offensive representations in media, film, TV, books, greetings cards, workplace discrimination, excluding people and making them feel unwelcome, treating people as if they are less intelligent or capable, to appalling ageist violence and elder abuse. The anti-ageism activism movement is gaining strength, and I do think more and more people are recognizing this now and speaking out against it!"

2."Content warning-offensive ageist statements. Again, this wasn't directed at me personally, but the worst ageism I've witnessed was during the pandemic. I have sadly witnessed more than one person say it was a good thing that older adults were dying, and it doesn't matter if they die because they are 'just old people.' Literally wishing other human beings, who they'd never met or spoken with, dead because of their age. It was impossible to argue with these individuals; they didn't seem to regard older people as human."

—bookshelftoad

3."This didn't happen to me, but I witnessed a lady in her 70s being told she wasn't able to use a computer. The lady who is now retired is likely to be more knowledgeable about computers than the ageist person."

4."59 years old and looking for a position in my very ageist profession. If you’re over 50, you’re looked at as a fossil. I’d manage to rise above that until I was 59. With a perfect educational and work pedigree, I could not get a single call back. Then, I really trimmed my work experience, so I looked like I was in my early 40s. After that, I got a callback and a final interview for every job. But when they saw me? The jig was up. One hiring manager asked me how I stayed current. If that isn’t a dog whistle!? I told him through conferences and professional organizations, and I helped former colleagues who had also moved on with their projects. I didn’t get the job but at least he had the decency to call me, unlike others. I asked him for feedback, and he got mad, telling me that it was unprofessional. Code for: I don’t have a good reason; you’re just old. Needless to say, I never got a job in my career and decided to work in a fabric store to support my quilting habit."

5."Being older in my work, I am pretty much ignored in group conversations and do not get invited to social events. I've been as friendly and helpful as I could but now I just don't care. It's a job that helps pay the bills, the minute I clock out those people don't exist."

6."I was having trouble with my eyesight. I was having trouble reading and had to magnify everything on my computer screen to 150 percent. I went to see an optometrist. He asked me my age. I was in my 40s at the time. Then he told me, 'your eyesight problems are due to your age. I can't do anything about them because that's just how it is when you get to be over 40.' I went to a different eye doctor and discovered that I had cataracts and needed surgery."

7."My Boss hates Gen Z with a passion and bemoans how 'sensitive' they are and how they 'lack a work ethic.' He has instituted a no-hire policy for anyone under 30. (This is not technically illegal because age discrimination is defined as over 40). He will not even consider anyone under 30 anymore due to a lot of drama that has happened in the last five years with younger employees. To be fair, it has been A LOT of crazy drama, but the policy just seems so stubborn and 'get off my lawn-y.'"

8."I got hired in March 2020, the beginning of lockdown, in an industry I didn’t know even existed. I work for a small business, and my job is a trade. I started from zero and was trained because the owners were desperate for help, and we all got along well enough for them to tough out the huge learning curve. I’m exceptionally lucky. A few months after my initial hire, a new person was hired. She was skilled already, younger, and had great ideas. She SCREAMED at me twice for not knowing how to do something I’d never done before. She was also previously in the Navy. I’d never been so humiliated and seething angry regarding a co-worker in my life, and I’ve seen some shit."

"The first time, I confronted her, and she apologized. The second time, not a word. She’d already started calling the males 'her guys' to customers and various condescending crap around the shop and finally quit because we wouldn’t bow down to her obvious superior intellect. We’re all still happy while she’s off doing whatever to whoever was the unlucky sap to hire her next."

—Anonymous, Age: 47

9."I'm only 24, and I am in my second year as an elementary teacher. Ever since I started working in the local public school district when I was 18 (and just a volunteer teacher's aide), there were always parents who freaked out about how young I was. I've had multiple parents ask for their kids to be switched to a different class when they saw how young I was at meet-the-teacher events. Usually, they'd insist I was inexperienced because I'm so young and that I can't possibly manage my classroom because of that."

10."I am 54, and I am trying to reenter the work field and pursue a new career. I taught preschool for 20 years and decided to retire and become a paralegal. I have had several interviews but no offers. One interviewer even told me that they were looking for people who would be in the position for a long time."

11."Since working in the corporate world, whenever I've started a new job, everyone assumes I'm still in university and still studying for a qualification. For the most part, younger people don't treat me like I'm inexperienced or incapable because they think I'm the same age as them. Usually, people are within a few years of age or older. They assume it's my first job, that I've had no prior experience, and that I need to be shown how to do the most basic tasks. I've been working in the same industry for over ten years now, and I'll have people with far less experience refer me to procedures I've created and be extremely condescending about processes that wouldn't exist without my involvement."

12."At the age of 57, I had just fished two years as CEO of the pensions company of a global brand. Profits soared 240%+, and all regulatory requirements and audits were successfully met. No one would hire me. I tried for a year to find a role — recruiters didn’t even bother to return my calls or respond to emails or applications. Why? Because I was female and ‘old’. Never had a corporate job again, so had to pivot and do something different and poorly paid."

13."Sadly, I’ve noticed that once I reach my 70s, I’m always being called 'Dear or Honey.' I’m also asked at the grocery store if I need help finding something. The crazy part is I still think of myself as a twenty-something. I don’t look my age, but people assume that because I’m short in stature, I am incapable of doing normal everyday activities. Frustrating at best."

14."I’m female, approaching mid-30s. I’ve often wondered if I get passed over because people look at me and think I might have a kid and go out on maternity leave soon. There is just no winning in this ridiculous game."

15."I’m on the other side of the age spectrum. I’m 18 and can’t even get my 1st legit job, even with 1 YOE as a sales assistant working for my father."

16."I ended up retiring (I didn't want to) because I couldn't get a new job after the company I worked for moved out of state. I was always 'over qualified' when, in reality, I was too old."

17."I saw it when my mom (50 at the time) was going through interview rounds at a bank. She has more than 15 years of experience in that field and is generally able to make great first impressions, and yet they picked a young graduate with zero experience over her. So yeah, it's a real thing and I pity anyone after fifty looking for a job."

—flying_schnitzel   

18."60+ here. I had a recruiter cold call me for a job. The discussion went well, and then he asked me for my DOB, but not my age. Tricky. He said he would talk to his client and go from there. Never heard back. Not surprised."

19."The level and quality of the job offer I received changed greatly when I removed my college graduation dates from my resume. People had been doing the inverse to me — holding me back because I am younger. Once I removed that, all of a sudden I was landing director level interviews. Ageism is a thing. Employers will judge you for being too old or too young. In many people’s eyes, you’re 'supposed' to be a certain thing at age X."

20.And finally, "My most recent interview was for a head geotechnical engineer position. I am 26M. As soon as I met with the VP who was interviewing me, he immediately changed the interview subject and position to be a regular field tech because he was looking for someone 'older and with more experience.' Like, why did you bring me in to talk then? Like, man, I’ve literally got a decade of field and office experience managing projects. Get out of here."

What are your thoughts about these ageist experiences? Let me know in the comments.

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length/clarity.