COVID-19 Update on Its Relationship to Aging, Active Aging, and Intergenerational Conflict in Europe

Scientific and political debates perceive aging as an unavoidable situation that leads to conflict between older and younger generations. The last 10 years in particular have seen a clear trend in Europe with older people doing well largely due to the younger generation, and this has increased the intergenerational conflict. This study examines the indicators for intergenerational conflict in Europe in order to assess the relationships between intergenerational conflict and aging and between intergenerational conflict and active aging policies. Lastly, the article seeks answers to questions such as “Does conflict exist between the interests of the younger and older generations in Europe?”, “Does conflict increase as populations age?”, “Can active aging policies moderate conflict?”, and “Has COVID-19 increased intergenerational conflict in Europe?” with regard to the impact COVID-19 has had in terms of the extent of the intergenerational conflict. Evidence from the literature indicates that an intergenerational conflict exists in Europe and that this intergenerational conflict weakens as older people become more actively involved in life and visible in society. On the other hand, the pandemic has increased the presence and visibility of the conflict of interests between the old and young generations. This article brings the perspective of COVID-19 to the relationship between intergenerational conflict and aging, which has been examined theoretically through various studies in the literature, and takes the current discussions one step further in this respect.