Addressing the discomfort of digital ageism
I was accused of digital ageism. But historic mentoring roles are being flipped.
When I attend a marketing conference, I am normally the oldest person in the room. Certainly, I am the oldest keynote speaker on the agenda ... usually by 10 years.
It doesn't bother me.
Mentally, I operate at a youthful level. I have a lot of energy, embrace change, and I'm at the top of my game, professionally. I never think about age stereotypes except when people use loaded adjectives to describe me like "seasoned" or "our senior citizen." Grrrrr.
So as a person working in a youth-oriented profession, I'm aware of the subtle cultural torpedos of ageism.
That's why I was surprised last week when I was accused of ... ageism.
Digital Ageism or not?
Over the last few weeks, I've written in-depth articles about demographic factors driving the adoption of the metaverseand Web3 technologies.
I made a statement that these unstoppable developments were largely being driven by teens. This is not an opinion. It is a fact validated by many studies, including the research from GWI I referenced in the article. Teens are the early tech adopters and are spending an increasing amount of their lives in these virtual spaces.
I had a reader take me to task for my posts. She suggested technological evolution is not just about kids. She pointed out that seniors are evolving and can adopt these technologies too. Ironically, it was suggested that I was demonstrating ageism.
The fact that I am in an age category closer to retirement than college graduation does not preclude me from slipping up and unintentionally offending somebody. But in this case, I don't think I said anything out of line. I was repeating well-researched facts from a reliable source, not demeaning any person or people group.
But perhaps there is something deeper going on here, which gives me a chance to discuss something I've never addressed before on this blog.
A time to be humble
For the entirety of human history, we have generally passed on wisdom from an older generation to the younger generation. Older people have taught the life skills, crafts, and wisdom that help the next generation survive and thrive.
This traditional mentorship role ("listen to your elders") is understandably a source of generational pride. I love being a mentor.
But in some ways, the role is being flipped. Our digital future cannot be informed by the traditions of past.
Youthful digital natives are driving much of the change in the business world through bold and creative technology adoption. They are teaching us new ways to connect, collaborate, and create.
Jimmy is 18.
I actually love the fact that GenZ is so bold and creative. It's exciting. I'm in awe of GenZ.
Flipping digital ageism
Embracing youth-driven change requires an openness to the new wisdom of youth and a willingness to abdicate a part of our traditional mentoring role. It's an unprecedented time for those of us with graying hair to patiently learn from somebody who might be too young to drive a car.
In the corporate world, there is a recognition of this role flip in the growing use of reverse mentoring programs.
Reverse mentoring pairs younger employees with executive team members to mentor them on various topics of technological, strategic, and cultural relevance. Key word being ... relevance.
A study reported in HBR showed four advantages of reverse mentoring programs:
Retention of younger employees
Sharing of digital skills
Driving culture change
Promoting diversity
Obviously, I'm not saying older people can't lead change or that they can't adapt to change. I enjoyed reading an article recently about influential tech disruptors and noting that all of them had college degrees and gray hair!
But my generation -- I am at the tail-end of the Boomers -- is in an uncomfortable place. For the first time in history, we may be taking our cue -- at least on culture, strategy, and technology -- from somebody decades younger than us. We can be mentored by teens. We SHOULD be mentored by teens.
I am, for sure.
The true and successful leaders will embrace this role with enthusiasm and grace. It's not about digital ageism, it's about accepting wisdom wherever it exists.
I appreciate you and the time you took out of your day to read this! You can find more articles like this from me on the top-rated {grow} blog and while you’re there, take a look at my Marketing Companion podcast and my keynote speaking page. For news and insights find me on Twitter at @markwschaefer, to see what I do when I’m not working, follow me on Instagram, and to discover my $RISE creator community here.
What if this ageism accusation is just a leading edge of a form of increasing cultural attack on marketing? I think we're going to see marketing under attack using things like ageism, sexism and a myriad of other -isms. Marketing entails discrimination - some people are our customers and some are not - and that makes lots of people uncomfortable or angry. We can see this already in Facebook removing certain targeting options, probably driven by internal pressure from certain groups. If everyone assumes the best of everyone else, ageism wouldn't be a big deal - wed just learn from each other and appreciate each other's strengths and weaknesses. But we're in a weird time where we don't assume the best of others - we do the opposite to score social points and raise social status.
Another insightful article...thanks, Mark. I'm seeing a lot more 'older' people in the crowd at my keynotes than my web3 twitter and discord interactions led me to believe. Tons of brilliant 16-20 year olds building amazing things...and more and more of everyone else now getting excited about the possibilities of the creator economy through web3...