BlueSky, a social media app similar to X (formerly known as Twitter), disappointed users with its ageist and ableist meme used to celebrate its first anniversary. The meme appeared on the BlueSky and LinkedIn platforms, where users called the company out for its inappropriate, demeaning nature.
The post read, “Happy first birthday to BlueSky, and what a year it’s been! With every day, the need for an open network that puts people first becomes increasingly clear. We’re glad to be building this with you. After all, the heart of a social network is the people.” The celebratory announcement was accompanied by a meme showing an older woman using a walker saying, “BlueSky’s public launch was one year ago today.” The younger woman assisting her replies, “Sure grandma, let’s get you to bed.”
In a LinkedIn newsletter to 8,567 followers, Janine Vanderburg explained that the Sure, Grandma meme first emerged on Twitter in 2020 to mock statements deemed outdated, reinforcing ageist stereotypes of older adults as being out of touch. Vanderburg asked readers if they found it odd that BlueSky bills itself as an alternative to Twitter but celebrated its first anniversary with an outdated, inappropriate meme that originated on Twitter.
Vanderburg, the CEO of Encore Roadmap, refers to herself as an avid new user of BlueSky and reported the post as inconsistent with BlueSky’s community guidelines for respectful interactions. Other BlueSky users have emailed BlueSky CEO Jay Graber and reached out across social media platforms, asking the company to do better.
BlueSky’s website claims the social media app is a Public Benefit Corporation, a type of for-profit company whose goals include positively impacting society. However, age advocates are challenging that claim. The company has yet to respond or remove the offensive post. BlueSky also declined to respond to a request for comment on the recent criticism.
Ageist Meme Backlash
Many users wrote that the meme made no sense and questioned why BlueSky would post a grandmother to celebrate a one year anniversary.
“Older people are not a meme and we are tired of seeing stereotypical, ageist images of older people,” Age Without Limits wrote on LinkedIn. Age Without Limits is the Centre for Ageing Better’s campaign to challenge ageism for the benefit of all of us as we grow older.
“How we are represented as we grow older can have a profound impact on other people’s beliefs about us and our beliefs about ourselves, as we often internalise the negative misconceptions about ageing that we are bombarded with every day.”
Users on BlueSky shared their disappointment.
Not BlueSky’s First Call-Out
This isn’t the first time BlueSky users have called on them to do better. In July 2023, a LinkedIn post by podcaster Scott Hirleman went viral after he called out BlueSky’s developers, creators and funders “anti-blackness problem.”
While BlueSky was still in beta, users reported racist handles and threatened a posting strike and to leave the platform. Some users said BlueSky sent personalized apologies for failing to protect Black users and other marginalized groups on the platform.
“In emails responding to users who sent feedback regarding the platform’s failure to moderate racist content, BlueSky’s customer support outlined steps to address user concerns. The emails, which users shared on BlueSky, appear to be tailored to each individual user’s feedback,” TechCrunch reported.
Elon Musk: Biggest BlueSky Booster
With 30 million users, BlueSky has seen rapid growth. In August 2024, following the blocking of X in Brazil, BlueSky gained over four million users in under two weeks. Two months later, Elon Musk changed X’s block feature to make all content public, even from blocked users, and its Terms of Service gave it the right to share user data with third parties, including those companies developing AI models. In two days, over 1.2 million users left the platform to join BlueSky. Finally, in the weeks following the U.S. presidential election, millions dumped X and moved to BlueSky in protest of Elon Musk contributing over a quarter of a billion dollars to help Trump return to the White House for a second, non-consecutive term.
The rapid escalation of platform use creates more pressure on the company to respond to user wants and needs. BlueSky states it is against “promoting hate or extremist conduct that targets people or groups based on their race, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, disability, or sexual orientation.” BlueSky’s ageist meme and lack of response to criticism indicate that ageism, however, is open season.