Does ageism exist in Ph.D. programs? If so, how does it show itself?

Academic ageism is expected on the internet. When interacting with Ph.D. students online, many individuals are respectful and courteous towards older scientists. However, there are a few “bad eggs.” This usually involves condescending judgements that all or almost all scientists who are above a certain age must be incompetent. I would argue that this is not nice, inaccurate, and not okay in a public forum that values tolerance and acceptance of all groups. The view that old scientists are incompetent is just as wrong and invalid as female scientists are incompetent.