Can social media erase ageism?

One of the things I love most about social media is that it doesn't discriminate based on age. There are people in my Twitter feed who are college students and others who are senior citizens. At tweetups, I've had the pleasure of chatting with 22 year olds and 65 year olds. At social media events, I've seen young adults learn from their elders and grandparents learn from recent graduates. I love that age seems to have no bearing in social media circles.

Age discrimination is alive and well in our world, however. Too many people jump to conclusions based on that stupid, little number. You only know this much if you're under 25 or you don't know something else because you're over 50. Personally, I never ask someone's age. I don't want to know.

At the age of 26 I actually had a supervisor call me a spinster because I wasn't married. In this day and age, I still marvel at the small-mindedness of it. Heaven help a gal who puts her career first! I'm a complex, driven, and passionate person. My age does not define me nor dictate where I should be in my life. Neither does your age.

I'm grateful that social media seems to be chipping away at ageism. I frequently see folks tweeting with others who are 10, 20, or 40 years their senior or junior. For some reason, those who are most active on social media seem to have a greater understanding that we're all just people. We can all learn from one another. We can all laugh with one another. We can all enjoy each other's company. We all have something to offer. We all have value.

I'm not sure why, but age seems to be unimportant in social media. I would love to think this is a sign of things to come. A world without age discrimination would be a wonderful thing. I know I want to be judged on the things that matter and not something as arbitrary as a birth year. Don't you?

28 comments:

  1. I hope social media removes ageism. Being successful in social media isn't defined by age, but by the ability to be social :P

    Great post.

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  2. I had never thought about this before, but that's so true. Good post, Amber!

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  3. I know the people with whom I interact online are a variety of ages. It doesn't matter to us. We enjoy some of the same subjects, or some of those people seem to think I'm hilarious. ;) I never thought it was weird, either, but, then again, I've always been friends with people who aren't my age. I just simply drift to the circles where my quirkiness and nerdiness are welcomed.

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  4. Being successful in ANYTHING isn't defined by age. Paying attention to that number makes us doubt others, stereotype them, and miss opportunities.

    Thanks for reading and commenting, Dave!

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  5. Thanks for visiting, Travis! I'm glad you see this, too. I think it's really encouraging.

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  6. Hi Erin,

    It really is about finding folks that we click with, learn from, and enjoy, isn't it? I'm no more my age than my shoe size.

    Glad to know you and your quirky nerdiness ;-)

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  7. Nobody - well, hardly anybody - ever gets my age right anyway. Might as well keep everybody guessing, right? ;)

    I'm glad to know you, too.

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  8. That's why you would have probably never guessed I'm really 102 yrs old..... however, with all this learning going on I am still one hip cat...........did I just say 'hip cat'?

    It's not just age, it's also gender, sexual orientation (remember your gay post), color, religion, etc, etc, etc......I think it's great. We might not always agree with each other, but what a perfect forum for all of us to learn from each other.

    Can't we all just get along like they say in your neck of the woods...........doh... and where do they say 'neck in the woods' anyway; must be a redneck....:)

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  9. I love this post! In real life I have friends of all ages, so why not in the virtual world as well? The Internet seems to bond people from all backgrounds, ages, etc. It would truly be great to wipe out all prejudices in a virtual as well as in the real world. :-)

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  10. A hundred and two? I would have pegged you for no older than a hundred and one.

    As for my neck of the woods, I live in the land of botox and facelifts. Everyone over 60 looks 25 ;-)

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  11. Thanks for chiming in, Carolyn. The internet is a powerful connector, isn't it?

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  12. It's not always the case that age is unimportant in social media, more that age/race/gender/ethnicity get kind of blurred. On social media, you're not really given a chance to discriminate based on any of these things, it's physically anonymous.

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  13. Al Roker says "neck of the woods" and Betty White is beautiful at 90 with lots of wrinkles. This is Carolyn with your celebrity news of the day! :-D

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  14. Well, the avatar generally provides physical detail (age, race, gender), doesn't it?

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  15. Who needs TMZ when we have you, Carolyn!

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  16. "We all have something of value.  We all have something to offer."  Amen, sister.   I hadn't thought about this before, but you're right.  The virtual world is far more embracing.

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  17. Hey missy! Long time, no see! Hope you're doing well.

    I just love when I get together with social media friends and there are such a variety of ages in the group. That's just not something I ever saw before the age of social media. I think the new world of media has really had an impact in that way.

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  18. I'm doing great, Amber.  You should come up to the SY Valley and visit sometime.  

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  19. Thanks for the invitation! It would be wonderful to meet in person one day!

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  20. OMG! if you want to experience ageism live in a Mediterranean country like I do; it will make you scream with frustration. What I love about SM is that often you have no idea about how the person looks, how old they are, how fat/thin they are, what colour skin they have etc. So you have no pre-conceived ideas. Your perception  is usually based solely on  your interactions with them, and I LOVE that. I have made such wonderful friends. Usually  I  have no idea how they look, their political/religious views, what car they drive, what they earn and how old they are. It's so refreshing.   

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  21. Well, this is a wonderful feature of SM - definitely. It has allowed me to develop quite a diverse group of friends, all of whom I learn from. Sadly, this feature won't transfer to the physical workplace and society in general. Ageism is alive and well there. Let's just hope that the virtual workplace might someday eliminate much of that.

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  22. Well, if Al says it then it must be acceptable in my neck of the woods too, huh? 

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  23. Really? It's bad in Spain? I had no idea. Do you know why?

    Yes, aside from the avatar, we're flying blind, huh? It's all about the interactions; you're so right, Vanessa.

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  24. Oh, I hear you. Ageism is alive and well in the world. It's so narrow minded to pigeonhole people based on something so arbitrary.

    I know stupid 50 year olds and incredibly bright 20 year olds--and vice versa. Age is not a factor that accurately measures someone's worth or knowledge.

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  25. This same thought has crossed my mind. Like you, I have social media friends spanning the gamut. I like it.

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  26. I really like it, too, Gini. I hate that age creates such divisions and stereotypes in the "real world". For some reason, social media seems to be a place where age loses all meaning.

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  27. Definitely! I have the motliest crowd of friends online, of all ages and stripes. Never would happen so readily in real life. An important observation!

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  28. I'm glad to know you've shared the same experience, Mary! Thanks for chiming in ;-)

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