Are older people today out of touch politically with younger generations?

Not offended jura just wanted to be clear!

I agree with Bluebelle a lot of older people look back with rose tinted specs and see things that didn't exist and forget how life REALLY was for most .The press are biased we saw it here and still do with our SNP government who are always SNP.=..BAD. anything they do thats useful or good for the country ...and they do a lot of good, is glossed over .Lies are told and accepted.The latest being that Nicola Sturgeon was responsible for the use of the Lion Rampant instead of the Union Flag on Royal ocassions.NOT true ,reported in all the papers and complained about by Reese Mogg and Ruth Davidson..yet only ONE newspaper printed a retraction ..as far as the rest of the country is concerned its true.Even though Alex Salmond came forward and informed the press it was HE who spoke to the Queen about it and the Queen was in total agreement .I dont buy newspapers ,haven't since 2014 and wont again until they become more balanced.I think a lot of the younger generation see the bias and find it unacceptable and in the main Right wing led .

Having just read Nonnies &;Anniebach comments not sure there would be any benefits would accrue to suggesting they look on Gransnet. The rudeness and patronising attitudes of a few responses to younger people views, would rather confirm that their views that there are such older
people that fit well in the optinion of their views on many Older People. As I have not expressed my own views I find it the height of ignorance on the part of those hating to hear views they don’t agree with to criticise what they describe as my views. Even being told that I am a Corbyn supporter which frankly is silly and very far from true.

I'm sure there are people of all ages who fit into all kinds of generalisations.

Thank you to those decent minded respondents who have reply in a fair, frank and very open and constructive way.

To those who find the views of young patronising then please stop an think, we are suppose to live in a democracy where I pray that the views of young and old have still have equal value.

This comes from an article in The Conversation about older people. I think it's interesting and probably true:

You become more conservative
Not so. Imagine ten people: one aged ten, one 20, one 30 and so on. The oldest is less liberal than the 60-year-old, who is less liberal than the 40-year-old, and so on. You might conclude people get more conservative with age. But you’d be incorrectly assuming that each person started out with the same political outlook.

A 100-year-old woman, born in 1918, formed her baseline political opinions in a very different time. What was liberal in the 1940s is conservative now (consider race relations, feminism and sexual norms). What you’re seeing is a 100-year-old whose political opinions have become less conservative, but remain more conservative than her children’s or grandchildren’s opinions, who began their lives on a more liberal footing. This is what researchers in the US found in their study of political attitudes among different age groups over 30 years. They concluded that “change is as common among older adults as younger adults”.

The Conversation

(I've shortened the link because it was massive... the article itself covered much more than just political views)

I've always been much more left wing than my two siblings and I find myself much more in tune with younger members of the family. Particularly on Brexit.

I'm not surprised if younger people are more left wing and I can remember being a bit contemptuous of fuddie-duddie 'old people' when I was much younger. I think that's a common generational thing. You just get a bit more tolerant of your elders as you get older yourself.

I do think younger people are partially right to blame us for their current situation. Who voted for Thatcher and the neo-liberalism that has brought about the current state of the economy?

Wasn't it 60 odd percent of young people didn't vote in the referendum?

I can only describe the younger people that I know so it is hardly a cross section.

They are all very politically active and all left wing as well as being very environmentally active. Two are vegans, but not necessarily for the reasons you may think. Two more are very environmentally active. There are a few others who are simply left wing supporters and horror struck at what is happening.

They all support remain.

All the older members of my family including my 99 year old mother are also left wing supporters this includes most of my friends, and voted remain. In fact our constituency voted strongly for remain, and its support seems to be growing. My dearest friend who died last year was what you would term a shire Tory and Brexit supporter.

The attitude of the young towards the older Brexit voter tends to be a shrug, a few have suggested they are thick, but I think they assume that if Brexit does indeed come about, it will eventually be overturned in the years to come.

Hi Everybody.
As a newcomer to Gransnet I am still finding my way around and even completely lost my first post on the forum never to be found again (LOL).

However, I have joined Gransnet having come from another over fifty forum in complete disgust at the attitudes and total intolerance of so many on that forum to any view that does not correspond to the leading right wing tabloids of this country.

In the above, a clique which seem to Dominate the forum are continuously posting extracts from those tabloids as evidence to their own even more extreme views. Those that join and express alternative views are quickly jumped on by the above clique with personal written abuse and those posting in kind by return are then banned from the site by the moderators for "disruptive behaviour" backed up by the owner.

There is much more which could be sighted in what has happened and been stated on the above site during my short membership of it. However, it is the impression that those views give to younger people that concerns me, by way of giving ammunition to those that state the older generation care for little else but themselves.

Born during WW2 I was raised with the food rationing and austerity of the early 1950s. However, I do believe that the vast majority of my generation did have far easier times in our younger days than this present generation. That stated it seems that as the older generation, we do not portray that caring attitude to our younger counterparts as it is web forums such as the above that are spoken of on Twitter, Facebook and Google plus by the young giving the wide impression that our generation is totally out of step with their thinking.

It would be good to know the composition of the family having this lunch time chat in the OP. Sounds a bit forced to me - not to say created for the purpose of putting these questions. As another person said, GNers are a well-informed articulate group. Our grandchildren may have many criticisms to make of us, but not that we are brain-washed by anybody

Mazie, very interesting analysis. The first time I’ve seen something that makes sense of the whole issue.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

However, I do believe that the vast majority of my generation did have far easier times in our younger days than this present generation.

Funnily enough, I was thinking that, too as I was mulling this topic over. Though we may have had more what could be described as 'hardship' (for example, fewer material possessions and bigger mortgage interest payments) in our teens and early twenties we have also benefited from a much easier jobs market, adult education free, or at a minimal cost, free (mainly) and easily accessible health care and access to more material comforts. And I think a good many of us have had a reasonably comfortable middle age (as we expected to as a reward for earlier 'hardship') and, those of us who have got there, are enjoying a pretty comfortable retirement. I really think that our generation have had it pretty good but succeeding generations don't see such good prospects in sight.

I do dislike being regarded as part of a selfish generation, but, as I said in an earlier post, who voted for the governments who have brought about our current situation where the rich apparently get richer and richer on the back of public money and the gap between rich and poor is widening (reversing the trend of the 60s & 70s)?

Oh, and a warm welcome to you, *Grandad1943'. I think you'll find Gnet has quite a broad spectrum of political views!

I've canvassed lots of people about party politics and the referendum. Only once met an older person who had the humility to say that she would discuss with her grandchildren how she should vote, because it was their future.
Older voters tend on average to be more likely to vote for Brexit and for more conservative politicians than younger ones. They are more likely to read and to directly quote things that have been published in right wing press articles. I believe that the readership of the Mail and Express is on the wane. The Express only seems to have 3 topics for headlines:
1. The weather (impending floods, heatwave, big freeze)
2. Foreign Aid should be stopped
3. Health issues affecting older people - possible treatments ore possible new cures (diabetes, strokes, Altzheimers, cancer etc)

No James I’ll keep my opinions to myself thank you.

Since I do not know any RW older people, I cannot say. to the extent I know the political views of friends of my age they are all left of centre,

I think sweeping statements about the political beliefs of a large and disparate group of people linked only by age is fraught with danger. Yes, older people are more likely to vote Conservative than labour, but, even among the over 70s, 30 % did not vote Conservative and among people 50-59 less than half voted Conservative.

You talk about people reading tabloid newspapers, but what about all the people reading what used to be called the broadsheets. Some tabloids may be right wing, but what about the Daily Mirror.

The best definition of your family discussion for each age group seems to be 'We have made up our minds, do not confuse us with facts',

I do. not wish at this stage to state my own views , simply because I desire to hear far more objective views..
Views please.
An objective view of your family only gained from your OP is that they have strong views and seem to be biased against Older People.

very wise OldMeg

First James2451, it's good to hear of someone else whose lunches are as much fun as ours.

I don't think that ALL older people have had their brains washed by tabloids and I would be challenging the young people about why they think such sweeping statements are likely to be right or might they not consider that they are showing some of their own prejudices. In my view there is probably the same proportion of young and old who get their information from some sort of echo chamber that reflects back their own opinion - the echo chamber is just differently structured for the different generations.

I would agree that the media did play a large - possibly undemocratic role in the referendum, but again I would say this happened differently but on both sides. I think the MSM is biased to the right in the majority and the online media is probably biased to the left in the majority.

I would agree that the tabloids rarely produce in depth and unbiased articles but then this is true of most of the news media however it is produced. I would advise them to read a cross section or they may become just as entrenched as they seem to think older people are.

I do think the MSM has distorted the stories about the EU and have blamed the EU for things that the government should have been blamed for. However, I do not think this is what made people vote leave but may have increased the numbers who did.

older people tend to be self centered and so often reject younger peoples opinions out of hand.
Again, a proportion of older people are like this but a similar proportion of younger people are also self-centered and reject others views out of hand. The younger ones will probably grow into the older ones in generations to come. The same would probably apply to the stubborn and bloody minded. I am not sure that has anything to do with being left or right-wing; I have a feeling some on both sides of the political divide, both young and old, are both of these things.

It is interesting to hear strongly held views from younger family members but it is good if they have learnt to reflect and realise no one has all the answers

Just as some older people may slowly get out of touch with the world where work, mortgages and child care, some of the young will not understand the difficulties of ill health, or elder care or living on a small and diminishing income and the other worries of the old. One opinion is never worth more than another but may be worth nothing if you have never bothered to understand why someone may not agree with you.

In my view we should list to younger people, it is their future rather than ours that is important to the future of the UUK, those some views on these pages critize them for daring to express their views. They are not accusing all older people but generalising like so many of us oldies do

Are older people a different race, are people who are vote in one particular way a different race, are people who voted for Brexit different from the rest of the population? It's a load of rubbish. ALL people are different, have different views on things, have different experiences, different expectations.

We have Brexit coming like it or not! And, I don't! But, it is what the population voted for! We should stop navel gazing, get on with it and all do out best to be tolerant.

Apologies for typo’s, ’ being partially blind I often have problems. I should take more care.

Its a slippery slope, I think, to put one section of society above another. Each and every person is as important as the next.

I hoped that was what I had said Kitty - bar the Brexit bit.

I think younger people are listened to James. It sounds as if your younger people may grow into strident older people as they don't seem to be doing a great deal of the listening you accuse others of not doing.

It is their future and it is a very different country to our past but that does not mean older people have nothing to offer. I can't say I have seen criticism of "the young expressing their views". Perhaps you could link us to the threads where this has happened.

Perhaps, it is your job, as an elder member of the family to teach them that it is a poor argument that rests on generalisation and that they need the facts to back up what they are saying or people will end up ignoring them however strongly they put their opinions forward.

prejudices generated by age
Certainly your OP has demonstrated that prejudice can be found in all generations.