Generational Gaps

By: Aleena Arasseril

https://www.alert-software.com/blog/communicating-with-a-team-that-has-a-big-generation-gap

Generational gaps have often been a concept that has been negatively looked upon because it frequently creates conflict between the ideologies, beliefs, and interests of two differently aged people. However, what people tend to overlook is the fact that the generational gap doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing; in fact, looking at it through another lens can help us embrace the fact that it comes with many positives.

Instead of referring to the differences as a “gap”, viewing it as a bridge that connects the contrasting experiences that two different age groups have can turn our opinions around. While we tend to neglect people who are drastically older or younger than us by classifying each conflict as a direct result of the generation gap, we often forget the fact that engaging with these different age groups could open a whole new door of wisdom to us.

When I did my first nursing clinical practice, I was placed in long-term care and the majority were elderly people, many nearing their 100s. The thought of starting conversations with these people who were about eight decades older than me terrified me to the point of researching “conversation starters with the elderly” on Google the day before beginning my clinical. I was in a state of confusion and fear. What if I bored them? What if I couldn’t take proper care of them the way they were accustomed to? The fact that this was my first clinical and my first experience actively being involved in patient care didn’t help me one bit.

However, my fear was proved wrong and today, I can confidently say that my experiences at the long-term care are one that I will never forget. Immediately after engaging with some of the residents there, I was able to realize how crucial it was to view the person in front of me eye to eye rather than through any superficial lens. This eye-to-eye approach blinded me to the differences that separated us and helped me to view them as another individual, just like me. They too went through this phase in their life, and they too had the youthful phase that I now have. Each and every single one of the elderly there taught me a different lesson, and each gave me a memory that I’d be carrying with me like a souvenir throughout the years to come. While some showed me the importance of valuing the present and my youth before I outgrow it, some showed me that youthfulness never dies.

This experience that I got from volunteering with this group is an experience that many miss out on due to their fear of battling the generational gap conflicts that may occur when volunteering with the elderly. While it seems easy to avoid engaging with different age groups by throwing in the term “generational gap”, I believe the courage and determination to break our fears and the gap could definitely be the beginning of a new friendship between two individuals.