See Me Now
We live in an age obsessed with youth, where old age is habitually used as a proxy for sameness, leading to assumptions that those who are of a similar age, are like each other in other respects.
According to the WHO, one in every two people is ageist and this has a significant impact on the health, wellbeing and quality of life of older people. As with other ‘isms’, ageism can be unintended but, whether conscious or subconscious, ageism informs decisions at individual, family, community and societal level. Furthermore, ageism can be internalised, and become a self-fulfilling prophesy as it affects how older people view themselves and the decisions they make.
Anna Dixon, CEO of the UK Centre for Ageing Better contends that ageism has a profound effect on our self-esteem, our wellbeing and our experience of day-to-day life. Referring to research conducted by the Centre for Ageing Better, Dixon observes that in spite of the progress made towards challenging discrimination in Britain, the UK continues to have an ingrained culture of pity, dislike and disassociation towards older people.
We will all age, and this is something that we should embrace.
See Me Now Initiative
Because a person is old does not mean that they are a different person to the person that they were.
Each older person is as individual as they were in their earlier years. They carry with them the abilities and know-how they have built up over the years, and the life knowledge and experience of those years.
See Me Now is about celebrating the individuality and uniqueness of older people. It seeks to address the imbalance in perceptions of older people by capturing their life experiences, in all of their complexity and richness.
The See Me Now initiative invites you to initiate discussion and to explore project options to celebrate the life and stories of an older person you know.
For queries or support, please contact Margaret at post@margaretbouchier.com.
- Pilot See Me Now project: A Parisienne in Carrigahorig podcast series, produced by Margaret Bouchier and Louise Bannon Early.
Global report on ageism. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2021. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
See Me Now (© Advanced Working Solutions Ltd. 2025)
An estimate of the prevalence of interpersonal ageism based on a survey of more than 83,000 people… showed that at least one in every two people held moderately or highly ageist attitudes (i.e. stereotypes and prejudice)
