I am not sold on the stereotypes the generational divides are saddled with based on arbitrary generalizations and the american-centric point of view they seem to encompass. Boomer memes. Millennial memes. Jokes about how all people over age 30 cannot adapt to tech.
Some people are just assholes resistant to change and angry about it hands down.
But one thing I would like to acknowledge in regards to younger generations vs older generations particularly in regards to the United States - 1990 was the year the ADA was passed. 1973 is when the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund says the very first civil rights for protection of people with disabilities was created. And even then, unless you were profoundly affected by a visible or intellectual issue- you were pretty much sorted into being a âbadâ kid or a âgoodâ kid in school. There were few protections in place for things like general anxiety disorder, grief, depression, and very little access to skills to address these things if even acknowledged. You were pushed through and told to suck it up.
What does this mean? It means there exist the possibility that the person you are critiquing for inability to adapt to new tech or to changes has undiagnosed conditions theyâve been relying on cobbled together skills to get through their lives. They learned how to do this one thing using every spoon they have and have no clue how to rebuild that flimsy structure over and over to adapt.
Think about what you expect for your peers now as courtesy- trigger or content warnings? Acknowledging they might not have enough spoons to complete a task or participate in an activity? An understanding they may have ADHD or ASD or general anxiety disorder or PTSD or Major depressive Disorder? The possibility theyâve been exposed to 27 microagressions that morning without learning any skills to move forward? Have you extended this to the 59 year old collegue who cannot make the cash register function with a long line waiting and you whisper boomer behind her back?
But - wait- QPJ, you say, they arenât respecting or extending courtesy toward -my- needs. And yes, this is totally valid. Some arenât. And itâs hard, because the burden on us to teach them- hey, I have ADHD and cannot comprehend a verbal list due to the way my short term memory is structured- is a huge thing to shoulder. And some of them will be assholes and be taught it over and over only to be assholes over it. But some of them? They have the same thing but donât know it, only know that they are also flailing and havenât been taught any skills or offered any meds and are lashing out because the tied-by-a thread compensation/mask theyâve constructed on their own isnât sturdy enough to handle change or a new situation.
As someone who works with adult special need populations and seniors in nursing homes on a regular basis and also is differently abled but was offered and still takes advantage of the therapeutic help available to me, all I ask is for some compassion to be extended outward.
