Is it time we stopped generational framing?
This week is Global Intergenerational Week, an awareness week encouraging everyone to embrace intergenerational practice and relationships.
Celebrating people of all ages coming together is laudable, writes our Chief Executive, Dr Carole Easton OBE. But does the term ‘intergenerational’ actually reinforce damaging generalisations and assumptions about differences based on age?
What generation are you? You may or may not know the answer to that question and I don’t think it matters.
There are labels for people born as far back as 1901 (The Greatest) and stretching forward to 2039 (Beta). I am a Baby Boomer, and my children are Millennials but I am not sure what this tells me about who we are.
Generally, it seems to me that the concept “intergenerational” has a number of implications, some of which are positive, but many are negative.
Let’s start with the positive. The term reminds us that we are all influenced by our contexts, environments, and social events and that there are major experiences which change over time. My grandparents and parents lived through the Second World War; my mother nearly lost her citizenship as she was marrying an “alien” and would have had to give up work once she was married. My grandchildren have been born into a digital world beyond the imagination of even Generation X (1965-1980) when they were children.
The term also reminds us that we tend to segregate our societies on the grounds of age. We do this in education, at work, socially and in the care system where we put old age care homes on the fringes of our communities. “Intergenerational” hopefully makes us question if this is in anyone’s best interest or whether more should be done to bring people of all ages together.
But there are negative implications. For me it lends weight to generational stereotyping. Baby Boomers are often characterised as traditional and resistant to change; as wealthy; and as being a “burden” on society while having benefited from housing costs and financial benefits that Millennials can only dream about. Millennials are generalised as tech-savvy, “snowflakes” or a generation obsessed with buying takeaway coffee. Both stereotypes are equally absurd, offensive and unhelpful.
The term “intergenerational” also unwittingly suggests that generations are clearly defined (which obviously they are not) and that there is inherent difference and conflict between generations. And yet research has demonstrated that this is very far from the truth. Young people, not surprisingly, are concerned about the welfare and wellbeing of older people; older people are concerned about the planet and the impact global warming is going to have on their children and grandchildren.
There is a raft of activity that takes place under the banner of “intergenerational”. I applaud much of this work but worry about the framing. This word evokes the image of toddlers being taken into care homes to cheer up residents. I am sure for some it is a positive experience and there is no doubt that there is a world of difference between a child of three and an individual of 93.
But these sorts of activities are contrived, albeit by people who really do care and want to do the best for young and old. The activities are contrived because we have separated older people from their communities; we have made it very difficult for some people to remain in their homes and to engage locally with people of all ages.
Age-friendly is another term that avoids the risk of pitting one generation against each other and suggests inclusion of people of all ages. It is wonderful that over 90 localities have now established Age-friendly Communities. They are focusing on older age but in supporting healthy and active ageing and helping older residents to shape the place that they live in, this undoubtedly benefits everyone of all ages.
Sally Greengross, an influential and tireless voice for older people before her death in 2022, coined the phrase Age Irrelevance which offers an interesting counterpoint to “intergenerational”. Why is “age” seen as so important and why is it so often seen as a defining characteristic? The definitions of generations only exaggerate this illusion.
Age irrelevance is a useful challenge to some of our thinking – especially in the media where age is often given when it has no relevance at all. But I think we need to go further and foster a “for all ages” approach to what we do, especially as the demographic of our country is shifting and there will be increasing numbers of older people and reducing numbers of younger people over the next 50 years.
Age-friendly is another term that avoids the risk of pitting one generation against each other and suggests inclusion of people of all ages. It is wonderful that over 90 localities have now established Age-friendly Communities. They are focusing on older age but in supporting healthy and active ageing and helping older residents to shape the place that they live in, this undoubtedly benefits everyone of all ages.
And what does this mean in the workplace where we know that there is a high level of discrimination against older workers even though they are vital in filling labour and skills gaps and increasing GDP?
At Ageing Better we are calling on the government to be Age-positive in raising our ambitions for the employment of people aged 50 and above, Age-curious in looking at what support and interventions work best for people in their 50s, 60s and beyond and to be Age-targeted in providing the specific support that older workers need.
So while I laud the efforts of everyone supporting Global Intergenerational Week this week, I will stick to “for all ages” and “Age- friendly” as the vision of the world that I wish to see fulfilled.
