In the glittering world of social media management, marketing, and digital design, the job market often feels like a popularity contest at a high school where the only acceptable ID is a birth year post-2000.

The roles are creative, strategic, and tech-driven-yet hiring practices increasingly favour the "young, hip influencer" archetype, regardless of actual skill. And for many talented, tech-savvy professionals over 40, the message is clear: you've aged out of the algorithm.

This week, I spoke with a client in her early 50s - a recent graduate with a degree in visual communications and a portfolio brimming with artistic flair, photographic talent, and a knack for visual storytelling.

She's fluent in Instagram, TikTok, Canva, and Adobe Creative Suite. She knows how to craft a reel that hooks in the first three seconds. And yet, she's met with disbelief: "You know what a reel is?" "You're on Insta?" "Wow, you're really ... with it."

It's not just patronising - it's professionally limiting. Because behind those comments is a bias that equates youth with tech fluency, and maturity with obsolescence.

And it's costing companies the very talent they claim to be searching for.

Let's be clear: social media was not invented by Gen Z. The platforms were built, coded, and scaled by people who are now in their 40s, 50s, and beyond.

The first viral YouTube videos? Created by millennials. The early adopters of Instagram?

Often Gen Xers with DSLRs and a design eye. The idea that older professionals are somehow "late to the party" ignores the fact that many of them built the damn venue.

So why does this bias persist?

Part of the problem lies in the platforms themselves. Algorithms reward youth-centric content-faces, trends, slang, and aesthetics that skew younger.

When hiring managers scroll for inspiration, they're served a feed of 20-something creators with curated lives and viral engagement. It becomes a feedback loop: younger faces get more visibility, which reinforces the idea that youth equals relevance.

But visibility isn't the same as value. And in the workplace, value should be measured by skill, strategy, and results - not by age or aesthetic.

Another culprit is the influencer economy itself. As brands chase relatability and virality, they often conflate personal branding with professional capability.

The assumption is that someone who looks the part-trendy, photogenic, fluent in meme culture-must also be the best fit for the role. But managing a brand's social presence is not the same as managing your own. It requires audience analysis, content strategy, visual design, copywriting, and data fluency.

These are learned skills, not age-dependent instincts.

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This column was first published by The Canberra Times on 15 October, 2025.