According to a new study, there is a growing trend toward ‘youngism’ in this country, where people are painting young adults as “clueless and burdensome.” In the study, when researchers asked people to described members of the younger generation, most words were negative. These included: entitled, coddled, disrespectful, and radical. Fewer positive words were mentioned, such as ambitin, intelligent, and tech-savvy.
Just like ageism, youngism should be addressed. To do this, experts suggest:
- Have open conversations about this and recognize it as a bias.
- Provide training to educate staff about both ageism and youngism.
- Work on uncovering unconscious biases and stereotypes. Use real-world examples.
- Team younger and older workers for projects and encourage them to learn from each other.
