Ageism, Social Media, and How We Can Be Better
After talking around with colleagues, and Cam herself, I’d like to talk about a couple things. A friend of mine was attacked by her heroes a couple days ago. Two very prominent, black feminists. They’re well respected, and they deserve the respect for the work they’ve done—and continue to do.
But.
First.
Let me go ahead and give you the Google definition of “ageism”: this is most notably considered to be the stereotyping and discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of age. Teens and seniors are the most common victims.
Just to give context for those that missed what went down: On Twitter, Two notable women—both with very large follower bases took it upon themselves to cast aspersions on a black teenage girl (Camryn Garrett) who’s 1) very well know and cared for, 2) is a trailblazer in all things literary, and 3) who is a teenager (in case you missed that.) Cam had an online magazine dedicated to black girls to submit entries for their voices to be heard. The name of the magazine was something that gathered lots of attention, as it was a word that was alleged to be copyrighted.
Here is me screaming: You cannot *technically* copyright words.
Anyway, the two women spoke out because they did not like the idea of the magazine. They felt like it was a fraud. Arguably, with awareness, the two women basically created a space for Cam to be “trolled” through the privilege of their large follower bases.
Cam received several hateful notes in her mentions—mostly from followers of these two said women that were literally given the go-ahead to flood Cam’s mentions with irrelevant bullshit, making widely false accusations.
The comments from the two women, which are now deleted, were meant to directly belittle and hurt Cam, as they considered HER to be the troll, but their comments offended many of us, I am sure. And some people don’t know why.
That’s because not really many people acknowledge ageism to be a thing.
Their comments directly attacked Cam, yes, but they also were meant to do harm to several teens like her, which is what they say they’re trying to avoid for themselves.
No one’s saying there’s two sides to erasure. We’re saying to check yourself.
These women have said they’ve been erased, attacked, & criticized. This is truth. But that’s what they did to Cam. Through ageism and quote retweets, tearing Cam down bit by bit. These women are a part of a very vulnerable group, as black women. Cam’s a part of an even more vulnerable group within that vulnerable group, as a teenage black woman.
Outright having followers attack a teenager is wrong, yes, but that’s not entirely my point.
My point is that them saying words like “lazy”, “uneducated,” and expressing the idea that all teens have “’failed through education,” among other things are all stereotypes of age. Adolescence specifically. Using these words to describe a teen are not only hurtful as fuck, but they hinder them from approaching adulthood, stops them from growing, crushes them.
It causes depression. Teens feel like they are not good enough when shit like this happens. When they are not heard. When we assume they have bad intentions. Especially teens of minority groups.
Trust me I know first hand. I’ve been there. More recently than they have. So the feelings are very fresh and raw. My high school experience was a rather peculiar one. On paper, I was considered to be what they called “advanced.” So, I got to do a program where I earned my AS degree while in high school, which put me a head of all of my peers. I was Cam’s age—16, in classes with mostly 25-35 year olds. And one huge stereotype that offended me to bits because of my age was the assumption that, in regards to academics, I knew far less than them. That I was automatically inferior. They didn’t see me as an equal. It became very apparent that the “you’re just a minor” mentality was meant to box me in, make me feel confined, ostracized, marginalized. And so that’s exactly what happened. I spent most of my time confined. Literally in the box of a dormitory room. There was no room for me to grow. I was deprived of that.
So this is why what happened to Cam resonated with me on a personal level.
Well, Jay, cut them some slack…they apologized to her.
They apologized?…um…okay. But that does not excuse their behavior. It does not excuse prejudice of teens. Hell, it doesn’t excuse prejudice period. It does not excuse an outright disregard for someone who they perceived to be less than them, as they tossed around words like “minor,” as a means of degradation. An apology? It’s a start, but it’s the action that’s the real determiner. Regardless of age.
They talked a lot about wanting to move forward, but their actions are retrogressive. Tearing down black teenage women is not progressive.
The point of this post isn’t to toss around “shade” or even to disrespect. It’s to enlighten, engage, and to challenge. It’s to show that ageism is also a thing that needs to be acknowledged, especially when we interact with others online, which can be a very unsafe place. Even more so for members of vulnerable communities.
I think it’s important for all of us—no matter how distinguished, to be more conscientious on what we do on social media. Think before acting. Research before commenting. Ask before assuming. Talk and not attack.
This is sooooo very important. We need to make sure that we have conversations with each other about young adults and their voices. We’ve got to be mindful that young people and adult allies have faced—and continue to face—many challenges as they work to engage other young adults throughout our communities. And if we constantly tear them down, we’re heading in a very frightening direction.