--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: there are now no elders who know more…" description: "\"there are now no elders who know more than the young themselves about what the young are experiencing.\" — Margaret Mead" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/margaret-mead-982_aging_there-are-now-no-elders-who-know-more-th_905654.jpg" --- # there are now no elders who know more than the young… ![“there are now no elders who know more than the young themselves about what the young are experiencing.” quote by Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/margaret-mead-982_aging_there-are-now-no-elders-who-know-more-th_905654.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/margaret-mead-982_aging_there-are-now-no-elders-who-know-more-th_905654.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/margaret-mead-982_aging_there-are-now-no-elders-who-know-more-th_905654.jpg) > “there are now no elders who know more than the young themselves about what the young are experiencing.” [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Youth now possess the most current experience of their own era, surpassing elders in understanding contemporary life. **In simple terms:** Young people know their own world best. Key Takeaway Listen to youth for fresh insights. Themes generational insight knowledge transfer youth perspective Mood reflective empathetic Type advice observational When to use this quote - education reform - policy making - family counseling - media production Key Concepts anthropology social change Questions to Reflect On - How can elders and youth collaborate effectively? - What biases might limit youth perspectives? A Different Perspective Elders may still hold valuable historical context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Elders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elders/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [“He has always been obedient, which is a sign of intelligence in a child because it shows you understand that your elders know better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-nadal/he-has-always-been-obedient-which-is-a-sign-of-intelligence-in-a/) [Rafael Nadal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-nadal/) > [“The young man pities his elders, fearing the day he, too, will join their ranks. The elderly man pities the younger generation, well-knowing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-i-fisher/the-young-man-pities-his-elders-fearing-the-day-he-too-will-join/) [Lynda I Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-i-fisher/) > [For the very first time the young are seeing history being made before it is censored by their elders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/for-the-very-first-time-the-young-are-seeing-history-being-made/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [The young, free to act on their initiative, can lead their elders in the direction of the unknown... The children, the young, must ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-young-free-to-act-on-their-initiative-can-lead-their-elders-in/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [The younger brother must help to pay for the pleasures of the elder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/the-younger-brother-must-help-to-pay-for-the-pleasures-of-the-elder/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [There is the expectation that a younger generation has the opportunity to redeem the crimes and failings of their elders and would have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/there-is-the-expectation-that-a-younger-generation-has-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“The most tragic error into which older people can fall is one that is common among educators and politicians. It is to use youth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/the-most-tragic-error-into-which-older-people-can-fall-is-one-that-is/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [For those who are always courteous and respectful of elders, four things increase: life, beauty, happiness and strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/for-those-who-are-always-courteous-and-respectful-of-elders-four/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“Learn from your elders, for they have walked where you have yet to walk, have seen what you have yet to see, have learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-bax/learn-from-your-elders-for-they-have-walked-where-you-have-yet-to/) [Timothy Bax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-bax/) > [It is the youngest in the family who tends to the elders to learn about the sacredness of life and the beauty of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misty-upham/it-is-the-youngest-in-the-family-who-tends-to-the-elders-to-learn/) [Misty Upham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misty-upham/) > [People say, 'Respect your elders,' but I always go, 'Respect your young people because they are our future.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t/people-say-respect-your-elders-but-i-always-go-respect-your-young/) [Booker T](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t/) > [I was brought up to respect my elders, so now I don't have to respect anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/i-was-brought-up-to-respect-my-elders-so-now-i-don-t-have-to-respect/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [Remember that the progress of the world depends on your knowing better than your elders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/remember-that-the-progress-of-the-world-depends-on-your-knowing/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Most people think that aging is irreversible and we know that there are mechanisms even in the human machinery that allow for the reversal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/most-people-think-that-aging-is-irreversible-and-we-know-that-there/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [The playthings of our elders are called business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-playthings-of-our-elders-are-called-business/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) ## More by Margaret Mead > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [If one cannot state a matter clearly enough so that even an intelligent twelve-year-old can understand it, one should remain within the cloistered walls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/if-one-cannot-state-a-matter-clearly-enough-so-that-even-an/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [I learned the value of hard work by working hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/i-learned-the-value-of-hard-work-by-working-hard/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/children-must-be-taught-how-to-think-not-what-to-think/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Women are scolded both for being mothers and for not being mothers, for wanting to eat their cake and have it too, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/women-are-scolded-both-for-being-mothers-and-for-not-being-mothers/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [we came to realize that a civilization which rode roughshod over the way of life of other peoples was incorporating evil in its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-came-to-realize-that-a-civilization-which-rode-roughshod-over-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [WE MUST DEVISE A SYSTEM IN WHICH PEACE IS MORE REWARDING THAN WAR.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-must-devise-a-system-in-which-peace-is-more-rewarding-than-war/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Through a grandmother's voice and hands the end of life is known at the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/through-a-grandmother-s-voice-and-hands-the-end-of-life-is-known-at/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [today's children are the first generation to grow up in a world that has the power to destroy itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/today-s-children-are-the-first-generation-to-grow-up-in-a-world-that/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We are now at a point where we must educate our children in what no one knew yesterday, and prepare our schools for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-are-now-at-a-point-where-we-must-educate-our-children-in-what-no/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Humanity . . . lies in man's capacity to question the known and imagine the unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/humanity-lies-in-man-s-capacity-to-question-the-known-and-imagine-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Fathers are biological necessities, but social accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/fathers-are-biological-necessities-but-social-accidents/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a child is to kill or torture an animal and not be held responsible.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/one-of-the-most-dangerous-things-that-can-happen-to-a-child-is-to/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We end up with the contradictory picture of a society that appears to throw its doors wide open to women, but translates her every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-end-up-with-the-contradictory-picture-of-a-society-that-appears-to/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) [Explore all 314 Margaret Mead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) ## More Aging quotes > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [All the dangers in our world are like a blessed wake up call. They tell us to live life NOW... not tomorrow, not when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/all-the-dangers-in-our-world-are-like-a-blessed-wake-up-call-they/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [“You could see the signs of female aging as diseased, especially if you had a vested interest in making women too see them your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/you-could-see-the-signs-of-female-aging-as-diseased-especially-if-you/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“It takes maturity to be able to laugh like a child again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moffat-machingura/it-takes-maturity-to-be-able-to-laugh-like-a-child-again/) [Moffat Machingura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moffat-machingura/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Growing old-it's not nice, but it's interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/growing-old-it-s-not-nice-but-it-s-interesting/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Anything is possible in the life of a man if he lives long enough. Even maturity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howell-raines/anything-is-possible-in-the-life-of-a-man-if-he-lives-long-enough/) [Howell Raines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howell-raines/) > [I just want to be Patty McCormack. I want to spend every year aging the way she has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-varney/i-just-want-to-be-patty-mccormack-i-want-to-spend-every-year-aging/) [Janet Varney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-varney/) > [Maturity is reached the day we don't need to be lied to about anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-yerby/maturity-is-reached-the-day-we-don-t-need-to-be-lied-to-about-anything/) [Frank Yerby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-yerby/) [Browse all 2,792 Aging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "there are now no elders who know more than the young themselves about what the young are experiencing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Mead" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/there-are-now-no-elders-who-know-more-than-the-young-themselves-about/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aging" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/there-are-now-no-elders-who-know-more-than-the-young-themselves-about/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/margaret-mead-982_aging_there-are-now-no-elders-who-know-more-th_905654.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/margaret-mead-982_aging_there-are-now-no-elders-who-know-more-th_905654.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/margaret-mead-982_aging_there-are-now-no-elders-who-know-more-th_905654.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“there are now no elders who know more than the young themselves about what the young are experiencing.” — Margaret Mead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Margaret Mead", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "there are now no elders who...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/there-are-now-no-elders-who-know-more-than-the-young-themselves-about/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/there-are-now-no-elders-who-know-more-than-the-young-themselves-about/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```