Ashton Applewhite, activist and author of “This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism” and opening keynote speaker at the 2018 EFA Expo & Conference in Savannah, Ga., reveals that she suddenly found herself confronting the fact that she was indeed getting older, a truth that was hard for her to accept.

The assumptions and misconceptions she’d built over the years were indicative of a societal view held by many. However, when Applewhite was introduced to some older adults, and spoke to them, a big gap emerged between the reality and assumptions.

As Applewhite states, according to statistics, 2.5 percent of older Americans live in nursing homes and the number keeps dropping; the number of older adults with dementia is decreasing; and retirement homes are of hotbeds of romance. “The more I learned about old age, the less terrifying it seemed,” says Applewhite.

Society’s views on getting older have negatively influenced how people approach aging. “In this society we see aging only through the lens of loss. From the inside the experience is different,” she says. “I had to acknowledge and confront my own prejudices.”


So why are we so afraid of aging, Applewhite asks. Why do we assume everyone in a nursing home is the same age and that they’re alike? It’s ageist–discriminating and stereotyping based on age. However, ageism is a social construct, she points out, and we have the power to change that.

“Fear of dying is human, fear of aging is cultural.” Applewhite says. In many cultures, the elderly are respected and venerated yet this culture is youth-centered and any negative prophesy of aging damages our positive attitude. Older adults, and even middle-aged people, begin to think of themselves as a financial and physical burden to their loved ones and the internalized ageism prompts people to start wondering if they should commit suicide. People think we can’t afford longevity of life as a nation and labels such as the “Silver Tsunami” reinforce the idea that older adults will drain resources thus breeding resentment when in fact they can contribute to their families on a generational level.

“I’ve become an old person in training,” Applewhite admits. She states that you can get off the hamster wheel of age denial and start to reimagine your future, thinking ahead even if it doesn’t come naturally, and rejecting the habit of pitting the young against the old.

It’s time to mobilize against ageism and design has a part to play in this, too. Using the example of the push for advocating change for people with disabilities, what was once an individual problem becomes an everybody problem where the solution for older adults will benefit all age groups in the long run.