Research has found that having a good moan about young folk makes the elderly feel better and boosts their self-esteem. "Far from feeling down about the younger generation's lifestyle and behaviour, the elderly actually revel in their misfortune," reported The Daily Telegraph. "For when given a choice, older people prefer to read negative news, rather than positive news about young adults."
The phenomenon - dubbed "the Victor Meldrew effect" by the paper - was measured by boffins in the US and Germany. A bunch of older people aged 50 to 55 were shown a mocked-up online magazine, which included a mix of positive and negative stories about young and old. The older people were more likely to click on negative stories about young people and questionnaires revealed that reading those articles made them feel good.
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