BuzzFeed can be very hit or miss with it’s quality and subject matter, but I found the following article fascinating and very well written/researched.
It’s not the “Boomers Ruin Everything” rant that you might think at first glance, instead it’s a very long and in-depth look at how the growth in the online presence of people 50 and older has changed the way Facebook, news sites, scam artists and hyper-partisan websites operate. It also examines the “why” and “how” behind the tendencies for older people to be more susceptible to online influence. It’s a decent read.
AOC was wrong, but she wasn’t crazy wrong. It’s certainly true that FDR was the motivation behind the 22nd, that it was a direct response to his third and fourth terms. That it was presented to Congress after his death and would not have applied to a sitting President anyway is also true. But she’s right that Republicans backed the amendment at least in part out of fear of the prospect of multiple terms by a Democratic President like FDR.
I’m less than two weeks away from 60 so I don’t understand how my fellow 50+ people fall for all this stuff. I mean if you click once on “We say farewell to The Rock” and realize he isn’t dead, why would you ever click on another one of those links? Same with “Save thousands with this one Social Security trick!” or any of the other bullshit out there. I know there are people trying to get into my head and steal my wallet. I keep my distance from most of it.
I also finally know better to stay out of most political arguments. If someone is a Trump supporter at this point nothing is going to change them.
This is why I really have no sympathy for the “dumb uninformed conservative voting against their own interests/not realizing their principles are purely and unquestionably racist and sexist.” I was raised by people who believed that shit, in a part of the country where everyone believed that shit, and taught by teachers who believed that shit. . .
. . . and I fucking figured it out. As a goddamn teenager. And teenagers are dumb as all fuck.
Well to be fair you’re far more proficient in technology than the average person your age, and I’m willing to bet your educational background is also above the level of most people 50+ who fall into the Facebook/Fake News internet sinkholes.
Like the article mentions, many of the folks who find themselves on the internet for the first time at 50+ don’t have the technical experience and/or education that would allow them to spot fake news & sites at a glance (and we’re talking about decently crafted fake articles from supposed news sources, not just One Neat Trick bullshit). The article also goes into detail on how the cognitive, social and reasoning abilities of seniors can decline due to factors like inactivity and loneliness, and how that can lead into finding these groups of other seniors who are supposedly just like you online, and since they’re all sharing and commenting on this stuff about The Caravans…and you desperately want to belong to a group again…
Part of the fix for this will take care of itself. As people who are in their 40’s and 30’s now turn 50+ over the next two decades, they’ll bring their knowledge of and comfort with technology with them, and the number of “easy marks” on the internet will decline sharply. In the meantime, as the article details, we should be directing a decent portion of our ongoing Internet Literacy initiatives towards older people. The internet can be a great place for older people to connect, both with their own families and with new friends, keeping them engaged, active and social. But if we just leave them out there to figure it all out for themselves…we get the Stupid Shit You See On Facebook.
We may not be able to change the minds of current Trump voters, but we can make an effort to keep their numbers from growing any larger by helping older folks properly navigate the cesspool that awaits them when they connect to the internet.
Seniors are so arrogant. “No one can/will ever scam or take advantage of me, I’m so tough, smart, etc.!” When their declining faculties mean the opposite is too often true. It’s reckless hubris, like driving blindfolded.
OTOH, in many parts of Asia the aged are revered, and it seems to work out okay for them. But that’s much more deeply ingrained/institutionalized than in the West.
This is limited to seniors? Or is this just human nature? I think I read somewhere that most people consider themselves at least slightly above average.
You may be surprised to know that the 18-34 age bracket is considered the most malleable. Apparently younger people can be influenced too.
The more I think about it, I can totally imagine at least one of them entering politics in 20-30 years. And somehow, I don’t think they will be on the Left…
Kids are so arrogant, thinking they know everything. :)
Seniors have money, grew up without the technology we have today and to be honest, I think seniors have always been a little more trusting. When you get old you look for that I think. The internet (and home phones) are basically scam machines and if you haven’t had someone sit your ass down and explain that to you it is hard to comprehend why some Albanian would want to rip you off.
I think that is part of it. Seniors grew up distrusting the used car dealer. They trusted the newspaper (before Trump), the idea that the guy behind that phone call or that e-mail is a crook just takes them by surprise.
People also claim to be cops, and what senior doesn’t trust the white cop establishment?
