Too old to dream?

“Stop bro. You expired” That’s a comment posted on one of my TikTok videos.

It was a fairly straightforward, colloquial dig at my age. The subject of the video was how to be articulate, so it wasn’t clear what triggered the commenter. Judging by the wording of his comment, he could have benefited from my advice.

I’ve also got snide remarks about the ongoing deforestation on my head. Short of getting a Turkish hair transplant, there’s nothing I can do about that.

Such ageist shade is tame compared to what I’ve seen other elder millennials, Gen Xers and Boomers face. In combative comment threads, the derogatory reference to age is the default for many netizens (old-people-lingo alert!) It’s usually a thinly veiled means of discounting someone’s opinion or value…age as a measurement of usefulness.

The presence of a mature cohort on digital platforms seems to send many younger creators and browsers into fits, fomenting a digital divide between the present and the past. In some ways, today’s world seems made for the new man/woman.

Tech advances appear to favour younger generations born into this era and who understand it more readily. Technology, which on the surface appears to be the domain of younger minds, also collapses time and speeds up our evolution. Only the most intellectually nimble can prevail in an age where the tectonic plates of human development are constantly on the move.

Additionally, crossover sentiments among younger generations posit that the state of the world – armed conflicts, environmental destruction, persistent inequalities, race and class dogmas – is the living legacy of those who came before; those who won’t yield to younger people with fresh ideas. It’s the Young and the Restless vs the Old and the Listless.

The only sin worse than omnipresent ageism is sidelining yourself with an in-house ageist mindset.

Ray Kroc was 52 years old when he went from being a travelling salesman of restaurant products to revolutionising the fast-food industry and founding the largest franchise in the world. If Kroc had been hamstrung by limiting notions surrounding age, there wouldn’t be a McDonald’s restaurant in nearly every corner of the globe. Some might argue that would have been preferable, but that’s another matter entirely.

Samuel L Jackson was a journeyman actor for years before he played his seminal role in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction at the age of 46. After that landmark film, Jackson became the darling of mainstream Hollywood featuring in several notable blockbusters.

Diana Nyad, an American distance swimmer, swam from Cuba to Florida – a distance of 110 miles – without a shark cage. What’s remarkable about this story is she had initially made the attempt 30 years earlier and failed. At the age of 60, she decided to try again.

She failed four times more, nearly at the cost of her life, and finally succeeded at 64. While her story is on the extreme end of human determination and perseverance, it nevertheless demonstrates the power of the will to defy expectations, even one's own.

The world makes space for no one, irrespective of age; you have to elbow your way to where you belong. The irony is, the same digitally driven technology-powered environment that appears skewed towards youth creates a more level playing field.

Social media platforms considered, albeit falsely, the native territory of millennials and Gen Z offer limitless opportunities to older folks otherwise benched by ageism.

Personal branding is crucial in an age when employers put tremendous weight on your digital footprint to gauge suitability for a role. On platforms like LinkedIn and TikTok, content creators post videos that offer a detailed look at their expertise, work experience, and problem-solving skills honed over years. What employers value over the pedigree of degrees is clear evidence of an ability to function in the role they’re trying to fill.

Social media is also fertile ground for reinvention – some people with long, illustrious careers behind them want to germinate their own opportunities by starting businesses or consultancies. The digital landscape is an amalgam of people with different backgrounds and ages. Retired dentist Dr Elie Phillips racks up massive views on YouTube teaching people how to care for their teeth and reduce visits to the dentist. As you can imagine, her wisdom on such matters is in massive demand.

No dream or ambition should be denatured by age. In my opinion, life should be lived like a party – keep dancing right up until the moment the lights go off and you’re thrown out on your a--.