<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>This article attends to age stereotypes and ageism in contemporary tech. In academia, little attention has been devoted to this topic. Therefore, we intend to initiate a discussion around ageism in tech by studying perceptions of age in the tech industry. Our study is based on interviews with 18 tech workers around the world of varying age. According to our interviewees, tech workers over 35 are considered old in the tech industry. Older tech workers are expected to become managers, thought to become less interested in new technology, and expected to have more challenges when learning new software. We also look at how tech workers of different age groups experience entrepreneurial values of the company as a playground, staying hungry, and changing the future with technology, and how these values influence their professional careers. We conclude that ageism is reinforced in contemporary tech through several stereotypes related to age.</p>
</abstract>

This article attends to age stereotypes and ageism in contemporary tech. In academia, little attention has been devoted to this topic. Therefore, we intend to initiate a discussion around ageism in tech by studying perceptions of age in the tech industry. Our study is based on interviews with 18 tech workers around the world of varying age. According to our interviewees, tech workers over 35 are considered old in the tech industry. Older tech workers are expected to become managers, thought to become less interested in new technology, and expected to have more challenges when learning new software. We also look at how tech workers of different age groups experience entrepreneurial values of the company as a playground, staying hungry, and changing the future with technology, and how these values influence their professional careers. We conclude that ageism is reinforced in contemporary tech through several stereotypes related to age.

Perceptions of age in contemporary tech

Nordicom Review

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Perceptions of age in contemporary tech"}

This article attends to age stereotypes and ageism in contemporary tech. In academia, little attention has been devoted to this topic. Therefore, we intend to...

Gender	Age	City of interview	Origin	Occupational Status	Base	Day of interview (2019)
M	40s	Berlin	Germany	Freelance	Berlin	19 Jan.
M	20s	Berlin	India	Tech company	Banglore	19 Jan.
M	late 30s	Online	Israel	Freelance	Tel Aviv	19 Jan.
F	late 30s	Berlin	Poland	Tech Student	Berlin	19 Jan.
M	early 50s	Austin	USA	Freelance	Houston	19 Mar.
M	early 30s	Austin	Mexico	Freelance	Houston	19 Mar.
M	late 20s	Sillicon Valley	Denmark	Tech giant	Sillicon Valley	19 Mar.
M	50s	Sillicon Valley	USA	Tech giant	Sillicon Valley	19 Mar.
M	20s	Sillicon Valley	China	Tech giant	Sillicon Valley	19 Mar.
F	50s	Sillicon Valley	Lithuania	Entrepreneur	Sillicon Valley	19 Mar.
NB^*	50s	Sillicon Valley	USA	Tech company & NGO	Sillicon Valley	19 Mar.
M	30s	Online	USA	Freelance & NGO	Sillicon Valley	19 April
M	20s	Barcelona	Catalonia	Freelance	Barcelona	19 June
M	early 30s	Barcelona	Catalonia	Entrepreneur	Barcelona	19 June
M	early 30s	Barcelona	Catalonia	Tech Company	Barcelona	19 Sept.
M	40s	Barcelona	Peru	Tech Startup	Barcelona	19 July
F	40s	Barcelona	India	Tech Startup	Barcelona	19 July
M	40s	Barcelona	Mexico	Tech Company	Barcelona	19 July

Perceptions of age in contemporary tech

Publié en ligne: 03 mars 2021

Pages: 79 - 91

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2021-0021

Mots clés
ageism, career, discrimination, tech culture, tech workers

© 2021 Andrea Rosales et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Characteristics of interview participants

Perceptions of age in contemporary tech

Publié en ligne: 03 mars 2021

Pages: 79 - 91

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2021-0021

Mots clésageism, career, discrimination, tech culture, tech workers

© 2021 Andrea Rosales et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Characteristics of interview participants

Mots clés
ageism, career, discrimination, tech culture, tech workers