Ageism and Technology: Social justice perspective

Ageism is a bias that has to do with discriminatory practices and prejudicial attitude towards older people in the society. Ageist submission has always been to foster digital divide. However, technology and ageism is to be considered as having a complimentary effect on each other. Technology can as well be used as a two-edged sword, that is, as a weapon of discrimination or as a tool to foster social justice. Technology in the era of datafication can be of help in educating and eliminating the “ism” in terms of technological design, accessibility and use; which as well demands a paradigm shift from a mindset of bias. This paper looks at the two sides of the sword of technology and ageism and emphasizes on fostering social justice.