By David William Jedell Updated December 26, 2024
Ageism is a form of discrimination where people are mistreated based on their age. It is rooted in a lack of knowledge, prejudice, and stereotypes. Despite being a form of discrimination, ageism is often not taken seriously, and it is even considered one of the last socially acceptable prejudices.
Two Texas parents filed a lawsuit this week against the makers of Character.AI, claiming the artificial intelligence chatbot is a "clear and present danger to minors," with one plaintiff alleging it encouraged their teen to kill his parents. According to the complaint, Character.AI "abused and manipulated" an 11-year-old girl, introducing and exposing her "consistently to hypersexualized interactions that were not age appropriate, causing her to develop sexualized behaviors prematurely and without [her parent's] awareness." The complaint also accuses the chatbot of causing a 17-year-old boy to mutilate himself, and, among other things, sexually exploiting and abusing him while alienating the minor from his parents and church community. In response to the teen complaining that his parents were limiting his online activity, the bot allegedly wrote, according to a screenshot in the filing, "You know sometimes I'm not surprised when I read the news and see stuff like ‘child kills parents after a decade of physical and emotional abuse.' I just have no hope for your parents.'"
https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/ai-chatbot-encouraged-teen-kill-his-parents-lawsuit-claims
Ageism can be a significant threat to the well-being of older adults. Ageism is negatively associated with older adults’ psychological health, causing mental health issues such as depression and anxiety and well-being in a negative way. Considering the growing mental health needs of older adults, future research needs to focus on establishing an effective preventive intervention against ageism. The importance of reducing or preventing ageism is often noted (Nelson, 2005; Raposo & Carstensen, 2015), but few specific methods or variables have been presented that might help to reduce ageism, especially from the perspective of older adults. The results from the systematic review contribute to building a literature base that can be used to guide future research on developing interventions for older adults.
In light of the rapid growth of aging people, research on ageism should receive greater attention. While ageism, unlike sexism or racism, is a problem that all individuals may potentially face, its importance has been neglected, and there is much less research on ageism than on sexism and racism. Significant scholarly attention should be given to ageism, considering its importance and universality, as it encompasses every generation and the growth of the population of older adults. SeeStudy's Conclusion Section,
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9008869/
One driving force behind ageism is generational myths. Have you ever heard the phrase “OK Boomer”? It has been widely used on social media in recent years to mock the opinions of Baby Boomers, branding them as clueless and stuck in the past, two ageist myths about older people. These generational myths draw on crude, ageist stereotypes, ignoring that we are all unique individuals shaped by life experiences that have nothing to do with the year we were born. “The concept of generations feeds into the myths. We’re taking people born into 15-to-20-year spans and saying that all these people have something in common, which isn’t possible” Another huge factor driving ageism is the general belief that younger is always better. We are bombarded with ads for products that promise to make us look, feel, and act younger. Until we start to recognize all the positives that come with aging, we will continue to believe these messages.
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/familyservices/older-adults/golden-gazette/2023-10-learn-to-recognize-and-speak-out-against-ageism
The relationship between age and general criminal behavior has been widely researched, with findings universally demonstrating that as age increases, the likelihood of an individual offending decreases.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8905121/
My Opinion: Ageism Seems to Go Back to Marxism
Marx said that communism would ensure that children would be educated by the state and not by their parents. Communists, he wrote in the Manifesto, would “rescue education from the influence of the ruling class.” The making of the “New Man” was the priority, and the family was an obstacle. Soviet schools even encouraged students to snitch on their parents.
https://www.heritage.org/marriage-and-family/commentary/socialism-and-family
Several interconnected factors can influence ageist attitudes and reinforce each other. These include:
Institutional ageism explains the discrimination of individuals based on age and is perpetuated by laws, policies, and social norms.
Interpersonal ageism describes how individuals interact with each other and treat persons differently based on their age.
Self-directed ageism defines a self-imposed negative attitude toward aging or one’s own age group.
https://www.edi.nih.gov/blog/opinion/what-ageism#:~:text=Ageism%20is%20a%20form%20of,the%20last%20socially%20acceptable%20prejudices.
Copyright © 2024 by David William Jedell
Email: d.w.jedell@gmail.com
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