You’ve seen it before – some ‘oldster’ poking at a smartphone, swiping the screen in frustration before sighing, “Sorry, I’m so stupid with these things." But is a smartphone a measure of wisdom?
Image: Generated by Meta AI
I ALWAYS say it, but I’m not sure people truly grasp how tough we had to be growing up in the ’70s and ’80s. And by ‘tough,’ I don’t just mean physically – though we were certainly active – but more so mentally and emotionally!
Back then, being mocked, ridiculed, and insulted was part of daily life. If you couldn’t take it – if you couldn’t ‘stick’ when someone teased you – you had a problem. And once the crowd sensed weakness, they pounced. You toughened up fast. I think the urgency was to develop resilience before male pattern baldness set in because, let’s face it, bald jokes can be ruthless!
Imagine being told as a teenager that you use more toothpaste than shampoo! Or that a hair transplant wouldn’t work for you because you’d look ridiculous with a kidney stitched onto your head.
The point is, being called ‘stupid, an idiot, a cretin, or a dumb ass’ was just playful banter. At least, that’s what I thought – until, as an adult, someone casually called me an ‘idiot’ over a minor mistake I had made.
For a moment, it stung. I caught myself thinking: “Am I actually a stupid idiot? A cretin? A dumb ass?” But then, clarity hit – I wasn’t any of those things. I had simply made a mistake, like every single person on this planet has done at some point.
That realisation changed my perspective. Once I stopped berating myself, I felt lighter, freer, more positive.
Maybe that’s why it bothers me so much when older people – those who grew up in the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s – call themselves 'stupid'.
You’ve seen it before – some ‘oldster’ poking at a smartphone, swiping the screen in frustration before sighing, “Sorry, I’m so stupid with these things. My grandchild, though – she’s brilliant! She figures this out in seconds, and she’s only four!”
But let’s be real. Many of today’s ‘oldsters’ have spent 70, 80, even 90 years mastering the art of living – not scrolling and swiping. Far too many of today’s youth have been glued to screens from the cradle; is it therefore any surprise that they’re tech-savvy?
And let’s not forget what you – the senior citizens – have mastered. Many of you grew up in or after a time of global conflict, you learned to make do with little, and overcame immense hardships. You played outside, built friendships without Wi-Fi, danced at Grand Balls, hiked just for fun, and frequently turned nothing into something special. Some of you even fought against injustice and helped dismantle oppressive systems.
These are the experiences that shaped your ‘good old days’ – not technology, but life itself.
So don’t let a smartphone make you forget who you are. You are not ‘stupid’. You are the sum of decades of resilience, resourcefulness, and a life well-lived.