I feel like one unspoken Western principle is that youth is the most desirable thing. You see this in the countless TV shows/movies set in high schools or colleges, the age distribution of influencers, etc. And I feel that our culture is not yet sophisticated enough to conceive as age as something different than "the opposite of youth" - i.e. ugly, dreadful, etc.
Maybe part of it is that when the world didn't change much, the oldest become the wisest. They survived it all. They've seen more and understand the dangers and pitfalls.
Now the world changes so fast that its not as true. A lot of the skills you learn become obsolete as you age. You have to keep learning at the same rate as the young because you can't rely on your 'back catalog' of info staying relevant. This means there's not an automatic connection between age and competence/wisdom.
