Quick post 6

I would say that my social sphere is absolutely comprised of people of all different ages. The age range is anywhere from 3 weeks old to 85 years old. I engage in conversation and interaction pretty regularly with younger people, as my friends have very young babies and I myself have a 7 month old daughter. I also have a 10 year old sister and 13 and 19 year old brothers. I interact mainly with people in their twenties, which is my age range where my fiancé, myself, friends and family members are comprised in this group. My grandparents make up most of the elderly age group, but I do feel that I come in contact with elderly people often when running errands because they approach my baby.

I agree that our society is segregated due to age. I am not exactly sure why that is, but I wonder if it may have to do with a lack of understanding other generations. An older person may have different values and ideas about what is socially acceptable for example, than a younger person. I think younger people also don’t really have a lot of respect for our elders unfortunately. In general, I think that older people and younger people have different ideas of a “good time”. Some college kids may like to do other activities than an elderly person. Young and middle age adults are advantaged due to their age because they are seen by our society as “ideal” citizens, they are the least draining of the social security system, the most “able” bodied, most attractive and contribute most to the economy.

I think that we need to eliminate age segregation because we can all learn something from one another in different age groups. I think we need to stop putting age requirements on activities such as bingo, or basketball at the YMCA for example. We need to incorporate other groups of people to intermingle together. I think the key is compassion for others and understanding of other people as well as respect. As a culture, I think that we can work on promoting respect for others by emphasizing the good qualities and traits of each age group. We need to promote interaction between these age groups so that stigmas are not placed unknowingly on each group.