Can an older person like me ever really be friends with a young person? At one time I would have said yes, absolutely. Age has nothing to do with friendship. You either enjoy someone’s company or you don’t. End of story. But now I’m not so sure.
My young friends in London are always having parties and I’m chuffed when they invite me. But my friend N takes great delight in teasing me. She says, ‘Don’t take it personally. You’re the token old guy. These days every party has to have at least one.’
It’s always assumed that an older man who has young female friends must be up to no good
You might wonder: why would I want to be friends with young people in the first place? There’s a critique of the young that we oldies often make that goes like this: Gen Z are just so zzzzzzzz. Millennials are moaners.
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