Connecting the Generations
Connecting the Generations
Younger people have a lifetime of rapid and unrelenting social, environmental and technological and social change to look forward to. It is easy to forget that older people have themselves experienced such changes on a massive level.
Consider for a moment the email that has been doing the rounds for a while entitled How Old is Grandpa? Here is an Anglicised version.
“One evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events. The grandson asked his grandfather what he thought about the computer age and life in general, today.
The Grandfather replied, “Well, let me think for a moment, when I was born there were no televisions, frozen foods, contact lenses, Frisbees, antibiotics, polio jabs, or the Pill. I was born before credit cards, laser beams or ball-point pens. There were no air conditioners, dishwashers, washing machines or tumble dryers – clothes were dried outdoors or hanging above the stove in the kitchen. Man hadn't yet walked on the moon, people got married first and then lived together and families had a father as well as a mother. I called every adult man, 'Sir'. There were no computers - letters were written by hand or on a typewriter and if you wanted more copies you used carbon paper. So there was no computer dating, internet, music, or phones you take with you. Daycare centres and group therapy didn’t exist and Gay meant happy. Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, common sense and the professional classes.
We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions. To serve your country was a privilege. Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins. Time-sharing meant time spent together as a family in the evenings and weekends - not purchasing holiday homes. We had never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, or yogurt. The only men who wore tattoos or earrings were pirates or sailors. We heard Big Bands, and news on the wireless. If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan' on it, it was badly made.
There were no supermarkets, Chinese or Indian restaurants – Pizza Hut, McDonald's, were unheard of – and fast food meant an apple. Tea was loose and coffee wasn’t instant because hardly anyone drank it. A bag of fresh roasted peanuts, a bus ride, an ice-cream, and an orange fizzy drink were all sixpence (2 1/2 p). And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend the same money posting three letters. You could buy a new car for £200, but who could afford one? Too bad, because petrol was less than 10p a gallon.
In my day, ‘grass’ was mowed, ‘coke' was a cold drink, ‘pot' was something your mother cooked in and ‘rock music' was a grandmother's lullaby. ‘Aids' were helpers, ‘chip’ meant a piece of wood, ‘hardware' was found in a hardware store and ‘software' wasn't even a word.
And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby. No wonder people say there’s a generation gap. And how old do you think I am? I bet you have this old man in mind. Well, you’re in for a shock!
This man is 59 years old.”
Younger people face a life with huge and sometimes frightening challenges.
The old links that once brought children and older people into daily contact have been disrupted by single parenthood, job mobility and the breakdown of communities and extended families. Communities and neighborhoods have changed from a social system found on the step and in the street to one of virtual isolation. Gone are the days when neighbors were involved with one another, ensuring discipline for the children of the neighborhood.
Children and older people can enjoy each other’s company and there is much they can exchange for mutual benefit. Older people can help children understand the roots of today's society and to find their way forward. But this can only happen if they get together on a regular basis.
In tiny, usually unconnected and often unnoticed ways, thousands of connections are made daily between this country's older and younger people.
We need new ways to connect the generations, and this is the basis of the thinking behind Many Happy Returns.
The average age of a grandparent in this country is now 65. This is the generation that invented youth – and is having a hard time giving it up – so they are able to relate to younger people.
These one-to-one linkages produce extraordinary results, yet they are only a first step. Many Happy Returns has been developed to allow these coalitions between younger and older people with hope of connecting people through intergenerational service and learning.
And if you want to understand why connecting the generations is so importsnt in our society, consider for a moment the statistics:
Currently, about a third of the UK's total population of 60.2 million is aged over 50 years old. Of these, 9.6 million are aged 65 or over – and of these, 4.6 million are aged 75 years and over. The number of people aged 65 years and over is expected to rise by nearly 60% in the next 25 years. In eight years' time, there will be an additional 1 million pensioners living alone.
By 2023 – only fifteen years away, people aged 75 years and over will account for over 10% of the population. The number of people over 85 years old will double in the next 25 years and will treble in the next 40 years.
In 20 years' time there will be 4 million people over the age of 80; the number of centenarians will exceed 30,000, passing 100,000 by about 2045 – in 1951 there were 300.
According to recent research by the national charity Contact the Elderly, 68% of the population consider that today's society ignores older people and does not value them. This view is held particularly strongly by 45-54 year olds and those aged 25-34 years. Research studying Contact the Elderly's current elderly members showed that, whilst older people receive more practical help than in the past, the companionship they yearn for is not met by such service providers.
These demographic figures are probably the biggest issue for our society today which we ignore at our peril.
