Reframing Aging during the time of COVID-19 workshop – May 27th, 2020

Changing The Narrative Colorado hosted a webinar on May 27th to highlight and discuss the issue of ageism and how it is relevant to the Covid-19 pandemic. Janine Vanderburg hosted this webinar and gave out valuable resources and information on how to re-frame the topic of aging in society. She discussed different types of bias that can occur, and how to challenge those biases in support of the older adult community. The main takeaway was how to re-frame aging by changing the language we use in relation to it. For example, “older adult” is a kinder way of saying “senior citizen” or “the elderly,” and the words we choose have impact on how others view what we are talking about. Using words with more positive connotations can shift society’s view on aging and provide more respect for the older adult community, especially at this critical time.