My mom is prime example of an older person that is still very much on the move. At 83 she still lives alone on her own property outside of Brisbane Australia, stays very busy with her friends and within her church community, has her own radio show, plays several instruments (in groups and alone), and a few months ago started learning to play the cello!
I'm grateful to have such great genes! It gives me hope that I can live as vibrantly in the second half of my life. That's what I'm working on...
Bryan, I just wanted to say you’re one of the few people I consistently follow here on Substack — your writing feels both deeply human and quietly revolutionary. I’m 61 and also living in Florida, and I see so much of what you describe every day.
I come to this work after decades in healthcare and medical education — first as a nurse, then leading clinician and patient learning programs across oncology, rare diseases, and elder care. I’m now building Seyna, a relational-intelligence platform that uses AI to help clinicians, patients, and families learn and connect in more human, trustworthy ways.
Your reflections on aging and design echo what I’ve been envisioning — especially the need to move from “designing for decline” to designing for continuation. I would love to explore whether we could collaborate or even imagine a pilot within communities like The Villages, bringing relational design and adaptive learning to life right where these conversations are already happening.
Really loved this, Bryan. What stood out for me is how much of the “aging problem” comes from distance. Most younger people just don’t spend real time around older adults, so their picture of aging gets stuck somewhere between decline and invisibility.
What you’re describing in The Villages sounds much closer to reality: people still learning, building, mentoring, experimenting. Aging doesn’t flatten curiosity; it just changes the stakes.
I wish more of us in our 30s and 40s would stop assuming life peaks at mid-career and starts tapering off after. The older folks I know are doing their best and most interesting work because they finally know what matters.
Designers, marketers, and tech people could learn a lot from that. Not just about accessibility, but about ambition that lasts.
You've got it so right Linda. I know we will see the tide shift in the design, marketing, and tech space. The Longevity Economy will soon be too massive to ignore.
Two events that shook me to my core right at the peak of midlife. The first changing jobs and experiencing agism: front & center... I was all excited and ready to go! - I said for the next challenge. Three great interviews gone extremely well, the last interview required an in-person visit to main headquarters and I could sense the dynamics changed unexpectedly.
Also about two years ago (2023) I read a great post on Medium by a UX Designer which wrote about the concept of aging as a form of disability. I had to re-read it several times as I was in disbelieve of the UX practitioner findings and her interpretations of how older adults decline after midlife. It was surprising to read about her research, and how this twenty something arrived to those conclusions. I tried very hard to give this writer the benefit of making her point as I read how she came to those conclusions.
Her article left me thinking for months, a year later when I tried to re-visit her post from my saved folder the writer had deleted the post after a small backslash of comments which was unfortunate.
One thing is reading about aging, another is living it and not feeling any of those assumptions and biases. So @Bryan, I also took on the mission to launch an online publication and working on what seemed simple, but is a big step with many moving parts. Enjoying each baby step at a time.
This is terrific!
My mom is prime example of an older person that is still very much on the move. At 83 she still lives alone on her own property outside of Brisbane Australia, stays very busy with her friends and within her church community, has her own radio show, plays several instruments (in groups and alone), and a few months ago started learning to play the cello!
I'm grateful to have such great genes! It gives me hope that I can live as vibrantly in the second half of my life. That's what I'm working on...
Absolutely wonderful Marie! Thanks for sharing that story about your mom. What an inspiring example!
So much truth in your article Bryan.
Bryan, I just wanted to say you’re one of the few people I consistently follow here on Substack — your writing feels both deeply human and quietly revolutionary. I’m 61 and also living in Florida, and I see so much of what you describe every day.
I come to this work after decades in healthcare and medical education — first as a nurse, then leading clinician and patient learning programs across oncology, rare diseases, and elder care. I’m now building Seyna, a relational-intelligence platform that uses AI to help clinicians, patients, and families learn and connect in more human, trustworthy ways.
Your reflections on aging and design echo what I’ve been envisioning — especially the need to move from “designing for decline” to designing for continuation. I would love to explore whether we could collaborate or even imagine a pilot within communities like The Villages, bringing relational design and adaptive learning to life right where these conversations are already happening.
Warmly,
Isabelle Vacher
Thank you Isabelle. I really appreciate your comment here. I'd love to explore some ideas.
You should also reach out to my friends Asif Khan and Laura Mckee from Hucu.ai. They might be potential collaborators working in a similar space.
Really loved this, Bryan. What stood out for me is how much of the “aging problem” comes from distance. Most younger people just don’t spend real time around older adults, so their picture of aging gets stuck somewhere between decline and invisibility.
What you’re describing in The Villages sounds much closer to reality: people still learning, building, mentoring, experimenting. Aging doesn’t flatten curiosity; it just changes the stakes.
I wish more of us in our 30s and 40s would stop assuming life peaks at mid-career and starts tapering off after. The older folks I know are doing their best and most interesting work because they finally know what matters.
Designers, marketers, and tech people could learn a lot from that. Not just about accessibility, but about ambition that lasts.
You've got it so right Linda. I know we will see the tide shift in the design, marketing, and tech space. The Longevity Economy will soon be too massive to ignore.
Two events that shook me to my core right at the peak of midlife. The first changing jobs and experiencing agism: front & center... I was all excited and ready to go! - I said for the next challenge. Three great interviews gone extremely well, the last interview required an in-person visit to main headquarters and I could sense the dynamics changed unexpectedly.
Also about two years ago (2023) I read a great post on Medium by a UX Designer which wrote about the concept of aging as a form of disability. I had to re-read it several times as I was in disbelieve of the UX practitioner findings and her interpretations of how older adults decline after midlife. It was surprising to read about her research, and how this twenty something arrived to those conclusions. I tried very hard to give this writer the benefit of making her point as I read how she came to those conclusions.
Her article left me thinking for months, a year later when I tried to re-visit her post from my saved folder the writer had deleted the post after a small backslash of comments which was unfortunate.
One thing is reading about aging, another is living it and not feeling any of those assumptions and biases. So @Bryan, I also took on the mission to launch an online publication and working on what seemed simple, but is a big step with many moving parts. Enjoying each baby step at a time.