memes

As one of the current generation of adults who grew up with afternoon cartoons, G.I. Joes, transformers and all the greatest movies that are so incredibly nostalgic now, I feel internally like I pretty much stopped developing mentally around age 25 and am still "with it" about much of society, but younger people now seem to think I was around during the civil war.

Reading discussions on even Lemmy between people 20 - 30, referencing how anyone over 40 is in like, an entirely different "category" for literally any topic. Makes me feel like a shriveled mummy sometimes.

It was all pretty funny and silly and I didn't think much of it until I tried getting a new job in my same field recently and it became abruptly clear that I was the oldest person applying for those positions even though I had been doing that work and had that experience for years and years, hiring managers always prioritize younger candidates who are more naive, seem more energetic, and are more desperate to succeed so are more willing to compromise on things like pay and benefits.

It took a year and a half to get a new job and that was only because I knew someone who knew someone. Middle-aged people are basically treated like elderly in many fields and hiring managers will always have a bias towards people younger than themselves or people who look or act more like themselves. This isn't malicious, this is just basic human behavior. This is why we had initiatives to remind people of their biases and reconsider candidates who might not seem to fit the "Standard" you might be unconsciously leaning towards.