The greatest threat to women over 50 isn’t time, it’s social media algorithms

3 months ago 12

Opinion

September 3, 2025 — 7.30pm

Not a day goes by without some very enthusiastic stranger popping up in my socials with advice on how to smooth out my neck.

I must admit, the thought of applying duct tape around my neck and jowls, even if it is for “a special occasion”, isn’t something I feel I need to add to my getting-ready routine. Shower, blow-dry, dress, make-up and … neck-lifting tape. No, I’m not feeling it. But the message is clear: neck tape is the trick for those seeking eternal youth.

The algorithm wants me to tape my neck. Why?

It’s not like I’m surprised by these anti-ageing tips. This is modern life, and the daily bombardment of beauty and fashion advice is just part of the deal. The internet has taken over where glossy magazines once reigned, with Anna Wintour replaced by the algorithm and its spawn: targeted advertising.

For women over the age of 50, social media algorithms are to fashion what I am to quantum physics. The trouble is, despite being an aggressively confident know-all, the algorithm is utterly clueless.

It’s all well and good telling me to:

Update your look.

Don’t be afraid of colour.

Embrace the peplum. (I beg your pardon?)

But it’s within these vaguely generic suggestions that it places some very strict, and revealing, guidelines about how fifty-something women should look.

For a start, it loves a high neck. My feed is full of them. By sheer exposure, I’ve become a reluctant expert. Ask me anything you like about the off-the-shoulder look, the loose neck, the crew neck, the turtleneck, the cowl neck, the boat neck. The only thing that doesn’t show up is anything remotely revealing.

I’m not sure why it can’t handle the sight of quinquagenarian cleavage, but don’t worry, it’s only warming up.

It has even stronger views on eyeliner. Namely, ditch it. Especially if it’s black.

That’s right, the eyeliner police have spoken, women over 50 apparently make the “common” mistake of applying too much dark eyeliner. And not only that, they don’t blend it properly. As someone whose memoir could be titled She Died with a Kohl Pencil in Her Hand, I need some time to let that sink in.

Denim comes with its own set of rules too. Keep things unexciting, unremarkable and mundane. Dark denim is safer than light denim and jeans mustn’t be too baggy or too tight. This does make shopping a lot easier – just head to the rack titled blancmange.

And make sure you match your dark, not-too-baggy, not- too-tight blancmange-cut jeans with delicate pieces of jewellery because chunky jewellery is also a no-no.

White shirts, on the other hand, are something it does like. Particularly if it’s a button-up. A white button-up. These can go from day to night, are a staple, a “hero piece” that works like a dream with Seinfeld jeans and perfectly manicured nails.

Follow this advice and join the cult: The perimenopausal Handmaid’s Tale. Suburbs filled with hordes of women striding down the street in retired dad-energy jeans, white shirts, taped up necks, and no eyeliner, heading out to stock up on peptides, proteins and patches.

It’s strange that I have to say this, but after almost four decades of adulthood, I know who I am and what I like. And the more I’m told what to do, the less likely it is I’m going to do it (just ask my partner).

With more than three decades of feminism neatly tucked under my belt, I’ve built a powerful force field that shrugs off all the bullshit.

Even though I can laugh off the antiquated views about women in their 50s, this endless stream of messaging about what women should be wearing or doing or looking like, dictated via the algorithm, is part of a bigger picture that ties girls and women to stereotypical versions of themselves.

I don’t want to play it safe. Nor should I have to. Women and girls shouldn’t have to conform to what social media tells them is the most “attractive” version of themselves.

I’m more than happy for the algorithm to keep sending me interesting things about this stage of my life; menopause, financial security, recipes with a Moroccan influence (I’m even willing to try wall Pilates). But when it comes to my appearance, I think I’ll take my own lead.

I’m not going to lose sleep worrying about my neck or trying to figure out what a peplum is.

Angela Pippos is a writer, filmmaker, journalist and former political adviser.

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