How to Benefit from the Experience of Older Adults?

If youth are the hope and strong building blocks of a nation, and the hands that build, cultivate, and defend the future, then older adults are the makers of history and glory, the reservoir of experience, knowledge, and wisdom, and the link that connects our rich past with our bright present.

Older adults are a blessing to life and the real wealth of society. They have the ability to understand life, cope with reality, and utilize their abilities optimally because they have more experience, and experience produces wisdom. Furthermore, they use their brains better compared to youth.

According to the General Authority for Statistics and the United Nations, the number of older adults will exceed 1.5 billion people out of the world's total population by 2050. Estimates suggest that by 2050, 16% of the world's total population will be over 65 years old, and the number of people over 80 years old is expected to triple (about 426 million people) by the end of 2050.

Older adults over the age of 60 are the fastest-growing age group. Japan and Germany are among the countries experiencing an increase in the number of older adults, yet they are among the world's largest advanced industrialized countries because they have been able to benefit from the experience and wisdom of older adults.

We benefit from the experience and wisdom of older adults and learn about past events and the experiences of previous generations, which provides valuable information that saves our youth from making many mistakes and failed experiences. Those who go through an experience are better than those who learn from it. We learn from them values and ethics, patience and love, facing challenges, bearing responsibility, overcoming sadness and problems, planning for life, setting priorities, and recognizing family values.

Therefore, it is essential to benefit from the experience and wisdom of older adults. It is unreasonable to have such a large number of older adults and waste all of this experience. Integrating older adults into life reduces their psychological pressures and gives them a sense of continuity in society, and it provides youth with valuable opportunities to learn from them.