Ageism

  What Is Ageism and How Do We Tackle It? When the World Health Organization (WHO) kicked off its anti-ageism campaign in 2018, it wanted to educate the global community about the high prevalence of ageism. WHO defines ageism as the "stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination towards people on the basis of age. It stems from the perception that a person might be too old or too young to be or to do something." Of course, all forms of discrimination are hurtful and deserving of greater awareness, but ageism has been seen as a more socially acceptable form of discrimination over the years. An article in the New York Times on the prevalence of ageism noted that there is a significant amount of social acceptance of ageism in American culture — from television, social media, and even daily interactions. But the article also cited research that suggests educating people about ageism can help them overcome it. And that couldn’t come at a better time; WHO estimates that the aging popu...