"I'm too old to learn"

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Discrimination by number: ageism

When we meet someone for the first time, and out of sheer curiosity, we ask, “How old do I look?” If the person answers that we look younger than we are, we are happy and smug about it. But if they answer that we look older than our current age, we can feel disappointed and even offended.

Anti-wrinkle facial cream commercials, fashion ads, and movie billboards always display young-looking protagonists. The media promotes youth as a determinant of a person’s value. The devaluation of older adults has always existed and has been so normalized that we overlook the giant elephant in the room: ageism.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines ageism as “stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) towards others or oneself based on age.” While this type of discrimination affects all people from childhood onwards, it is much more prominent in the elderly sector, where one in two people globally discriminates against others based on age. The irony is that no one escapes aging; ultimately, it is like discriminating against oneself.

Consider these prejudicial behaviors we might have: We feel impressed seeing an older person using the latest social media; we talk to them slowly with pauses because we consider it a type of “etiquette” on how to treat them. These are examples of ageism that we have adopted and taught unintentionally, but we must remember that it can negatively impact older people’s health, well-being, human rights, and even how they perceive themselves.

Because of the media’s portrayal of the senior sector over the years, the stereotypes that characterize them focus on the deterioration of their mental and physical health and portray them as incompetent, useless, forgetful, unattractive, and isolated. This mentality is very harmful since studies indicate that people who think this way die around 7.5 years earlier than those with more positive self-perceptions of their age and status.

You can’t teach an old dog new tricks… or can you?

According to WHO, ageism is the most accepted form of discrimination worldwide, even more than racism and sexism. It blocks people from developing their abilities in new areas because of the assumption in the old saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” which is wrong because, regardless of our ages, we can learn throughout our lives. Even an educational concept ratifies learning in all stages of life: lifelong learning.

Previously, the brain was thought to be a rigid structure that stopped developing after age 25. However, studies have shown that this is not the case; our brain continues to grow until we stop living. Even at an advanced age, the brain can still create new neural connections to respond to its environment; however, to achieve this, we must learn continuously; otherwise, connections dissipate, and the brain starts shrinking.

Because of erroneous indoctrination about old age, we may think it is impossible to learn new things due to physical and cognitive decline. Also, some conditions impair people’s mental processes, such as Alzheimer’s or dementia; however, this only happens for some people, and most can continue learning.

Why should an older person continue to learn if they already know how to work or are comfortably retired? The simple answer is to have a good emotional state and a healthy mind and body for this stage of life. It should be emphasized that it is not enough to maintain a healthy mind; we must stimulate its growth. We have heard that to avoid cognitive decline, seniors must activate their minds through things like crossword puzzles or a healthy diet; however, learning brain-growing skills is far more beneficial than merely keeping our brains active. In fact, studies prove that learning day-to-day skills (using a smartphone, learning a language, painting, etc.) improves older adults’ cognitive processes and abilities.

Another reason to continue learning during this stage of life is independent living. Since everything changes continuously and depends on technology, it is necessary to constantly update oneself on new trends to have functional independence from other people and to be able to do things sufficiently.

Ageism in learning

However, as the most accepted prejudice on the planet, ageism presents several obstacles to learning. Not only is there the internal barrier that makes a person look down on themselves because of their age, but there are also external barriers.

It is commonly said that infants are like sponges that absorb skills and learn very quickly, partly because their families and teachers constantly encourage them in stimulating environments and prioritize their cognitive development. On the other hand, it is the opposite for older adults because they are usually in discouraging environments for their learning, and access to resources and teachers is minimal.

Another demoralizing obstacle to continuous learning is the treatment older people often receive in the workforce. Unfortunately, they receive fewer opportunities to hone their skills through more training because younger employees receive preference.

The negativity caused by ageism can be highly demotivating for many people and make them doubt themselves, creating in older adults a feeling of rejection towards learning and believing “they are too old to learn.”

Not everything turns gray

Time is a great teacher. Thanks to the passing of years, we go through different stages of our lives, which means new experiences and teachings that help our abilities develop. Some of these are:

Vocabulary: It becomes more extensive and flowery, and our communication skills improve over time.

Inductive reasoning: Based on the experience gained, solving problems and making the best decisions faster becomes easier.

Math: Older adults have more time to practice math than younger people.

Optimism: Generally, older adults have a more positive perspective than young people.

Satisfaction: Learning in the advanced stages of life makes us feel happier with our accomplishments, which motivates us to continue learning new things.

It is important to emphasize that thanks to existing technology, today’s learning can be acquired through various means, such as courses, MOOCs, and audiobooks, which make learning new skills accessible through an infinity of platforms. In addition, universities worldwide have recently integrated academic programs (some low-cost) for older adults.

We must learn to value and appreciate every stage of our lives, including old age. People do not have an expiration date for learning, and we can always discover a new talent or ability we did not know we possessed. As British singer David Bowie once said, “Ageing is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person you always should have been.”

Translation by Daniel Wetta