Addressing the discomfort of digital ageism

When I attend a marketing conference, I am normally the oldest person in the room. Certainly, I am the oldest keynote speaker on the agenda … usually by 10 years.

It doesn’t bother me.

Mentally, I operate at a youthful level. I have a lot of energy, embrace change, and I’m at the top of my game, professionally. I never think about age stereotypes except when people use loaded adjectives to describe me like “seasoned” or “our senior citizen.” Grrrrr.

So as a person working in a youth-oriented profession, I’m aware of the subtle cultural torpedos of ageism.

That’s why I was surprised last week when I was accused of … ageism.

Digital Ageism or not?

Over the last few weeks, I’ve written in-depth articles about demographic factors driving the adoption of the metaverse and Web3 technologies.

I made a statement that these unstoppable developments were largely being driven by teens. This is not an opinion. It is a fact validated by many studies, including the research from GWI I referenced in the article. Teens are the early tech adopters and are spending an increasing amount of their lives in these virtual spaces.