Radicalisation of older people

Good for you. My mother is from an earlier generation, first of her family to go to uni and did a STEM degree in an era when 'girls don't do science'.

She has embraced being a grandmother, and couldn't care less that her granddaughter is black (and adopted). This year she has taken up ballet, because she always wanted to do ballet but never had the opportunity. She realised that as she is in her mid 80s she needs to get on and do it if she's going to.

As young people are targeted by the left? Why do you think they want to lower the age for voting.

Hahaha, so now older and wiser is not thing anymore. Have some respect for the elderly and may be just do not discard some of the things. It is a fact that the hard left or communists infiltrated all the organisations like the WHO to what end? Cash almost disappeared for good with Covid for instance and who ordered that? To what end and with what excuse?
May be go and check the background experience of all the people who are in charged of these organisations.
Bill Gates backed initiatives to block the sun to prevent climate changes and that was from reputable sources. May be there is some truth in the origin of those conspiracy theories. Before some idiot comes and tells me for the links to proof. Stop being lazy and check yourself. It is all available as public records and reputable newspapers.

Frontal lobe degeneration. Part of brain can* start dying off, affecting areas such as reasoning and empathy. Ironically, it’s the last area to develop as well, so those of us with teenagers and elderly parents are getting it from both sides!

*Can start dying off - not the case for everyone and happens at different rates depending on health and lifestyle factors.

The media / social media also understand this, and adjust what they do accordingly.

Well, it most certainly does affect adult kids when their parents do daft things like stopping all medication. It's OP who will be picking up the pieces.

There are areas of the media that do target particular demographics, and the ones aimed at older generations do push a lot of right wing myth.

Those fuckin’ Boomers eh? If we’re not out recklessly spending our own money rather than giving it to our entitled brats kids, we’re at home gullibly believing everything we’re told online. Thank god we’ve got all the clever young people on MN to point out where we’re going wrong. 🙄 Seriously this place is getting more depressingly ageist and more narrow-minded and unintelligent every day.

My Mum is 86 and thinks that Trump is a twat and DM readers shouldn't be allowed to vote. I'm with Her.

Too much time online perhaps?
What would be funny is if the same people creating content that your parent is watching is also making the opposite content for young people - boycott Israel supporting businesses like Starbucks! change your gender! You are definitely ND! Your food is full of poison! Employers are unreasonable to expect people to come in for 9am ! Etc (they are not my views but I’ve seen them on SM)

Pensioners and social media 🤣
Yep I know a lady mid 70s who constantly shares all these kinds of videos she sees daily on FB. Luckily my own parents do not use social media thank God!

Plenty of research on psychology of CT on Google Scholar, here is just one systematic review https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1075779/full

There are tons of other papers https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=conspiracy+beliefs+psychology&btnG=

but what do you actually want to achieve by reading the research? It won't make your father take his meds again.

Not the 70s no. But the 85+ for us. It’s sudden exposure to YouTube. Incredible the stories they come out with.

I think, whatever your beliefs, it is very easy to find support for them online and then to carry on finding more sources which share the same views. It can be harder to find opposing opinions once you're 'down a rabbit hole'.

Life was much simpler when I was young. I think it's easier to influence us. Remember the hoo ha about subliminal advertising which was banned. That's childs play compared to today's influence.

Look at the top streaming shows. Yellowstone and all it's copies. There's a yearning for something happening in people's minds. Simpler life, grittier living.

I completely agree. If someone listened to my experience I sound like an insane paranoid person. Surrounded by sociopathic people, systemically gaslighted by medical professionals. It's true. But you just can't be heard so it's best not really being too vocal. You sound nutty.

I really think an open mind is important and busy people with busy lives don't have the time and space often to really stop and see reality.

The anti Vax situation - has the vax helped people? Yes I'm sure it has and there was a place. Has it harmed people? Well yes it really has and plenty are popping up. How much is a deliberate conspiracy? I don't know. But discounting people and things that are hard to believe as conspiracies is short sighted.

Who would ever believe half the crap that's coming out about people, scandals, even this disgusting Pilicot case. You'd never imagine some of the things that are coming out at one point. Now nothing much surprise me and I'm just a tad cautious when I hear ' conspiracy theory' as a term.

It’s just all the crap they’re exposed to in the media. To be fair it’s hard to know what’s real anymore….when world leaders go on tv : social media and tell blatant lies. It’d a confusing time to live in….

I had a friend who went to Greanham Common. She finished her drama degree, fell pregnant then spent a year protesting with a young baby attached. I was busy building a career in a previously male dominated field. Doing my bit for women the future. We receive very little thanks for pushing boundaries nowadays.
Maybe I’ll spend my retirement protesting. I’m just not sure what my cause is yet.

the psychology is some conspaircy theories over time have been proven , so in that reguards its not an unfounded belief in them @colinthedogfromaccounts

Exactly. Maybe it’s not the elderly who are being radicalised 🙄

My friend did Greenham Common which impressed me no end. She was very passionate. But along came marriage and children, grandchildren. She's very mellow politically now.

Have a read about the student protests in the 1970s, Greenpeace and the Greanham
Common camps.
They are the same generation that are currently protesting.
They are the Citizen Smith generation, the punk rockers. Is it any surprise that they are now behaving badly again?

I read it as @colinthedogfromaccounts being worried about her dad, especially as he stopped taking meds.

cross posted with @Garlicworth thank you, I was just thinking I must have missed some really rude remarks by the OP. Weird responses here. I've seen people post concerns about relatives and CTs and they got sympathy.

True, but a lot join them at weekends.

The common factor is having time on their hands.

You know, OP didn't say older people are conspiracy nuts.

She said she's worried about her father, who has stopped taking his meds because he believes medical conspiracy theories among others.