It was the proverbial adolescent eye-roll heard around the world:

“Okay, Boomer.”

While this young woman’s comment created one of the most memorable, publicized and memed examples of raw ageism to date, the event sadly made no positive movement in the fight against ageism. In fact, there were more pointless memes and social media name-calling that sprouted from her utterance than fruitful conversations around solving the complexities of intergenerational politics.

Just like most ageist incidents, “Okay, Boomer” was brushed under the rug, largely ignored despite its blatant prejudicial tone and stereotyping intentions.

Why is ageism ignored?

As our aging population grows, ageism is becoming increasingly rampant. For example, according to the most recent survey by AARP, nearly 80% of older employees now report age discrimination