Do we really want to be immortal? Longevity here, longevity there
If you are wealthy, interested in beauty, wellness, and well-being, big fans of technological progress, or all of these things at once, you will know that the latest incredible, almost fantastical trend in the beauty-tech sector is longevity. Chewed over and over again by social media, this word bounces everywhere like a pinball. It is mentioned in every advertising campaign, clinics are popping up everywhere, everyone wants it and everyone desires it, everyone is devising protocols to achieve it. What does longevity mean in modern aesthetic medicine, and are we really sure we want to surrender to these pseudoscientific spells of immortality?
Why should we want to be immortal?
Let’s start from the end. There is absolutely nothing appealing about this prospect. We are already quite long-lived. Perhaps too much so. Extending life, challenging nature while already knowing we cannot win, is a confused forcing of limits that leads to excesses in plastic surgery, to expectations that cannot be met, and to an expenditure of money and energy within the reach of - almost - no one. Not to mention the expectations of beauty and youth that a human body, subject to decay, cannot sustain. Think of “Death with Interruptions,” José Saramago’s masterpiece. What would happen if people stopped dying? A disaster, for everyone. From funeral homes to hospitals. And then, to be philosophical, would living forever not lead to a loss of meaning and pleasure in life itself? The examples we have of people who have decided they want to be immortal only reinforce our thesis.
@tatumbrandt.co Longevity has become the cultural currency of 2025 (is that buzzwordy enough for you?) Now the ironic thing here is that in celebrating old age the longevity industry is still celebrating aspects of youth in order to profit off an older generation, but so it goes in a capitalist economy folks. I digress. There's an excellent substack that speaks to this by Studio Koto - it's "OFF.Brand" and the title is "Branding Longevity: the next health frontier" - def worth the read. #wellnessbrand #brandstrategy #longevity #marketingstrategy original sound - Tatum Brandt
A problem of perception: Bryan Johnson
You know who we mean, right? Bryan Johnson, the billionaire who - thanks to a well-timed sale - was able to reallocate his resources to a very ambitious project: living forever. He stated it plainly to The Guardian. “My goal? Not to die.” A provocative slogan, certainly, but one that says a lot about his (and our) presumption that we can stop the natural succession of life’s seasons. To achieve this goal, he undergoes very strict protocols, eats meals weighed to the gram and free of sugars, and has his son’s plasma injected into his body. You read that correctly. Like him, many other wealthy white men (and these are not random adjectives, because this is a fanciful challenge pursued by those who already have enough space and time to decide over everyone else) have decided to challenge time. Will it be worth it? We are fairly convinced the answer is no.
@_bryan_johnson_ Your skin is the largest organ in your body. Here’s how I look after mine every night before bed.
original sound - immortal unc
So, “longevity” does not exist, because it has always existed
The problem, then, is perception, largely driven by these eccentrics with money to throw around. Because the term longevity is nothing more than a shiny label stuck on - for marketing reasons and to sell more clinic stays, more creams, and more diagnostic tests - what science and medicine have always done and tirelessly worked toward: allowing us to live better lives without medicalizing aging. Not in terms of duration, but in terms of quality. So if longevity is not a titanic challenge against the world but simply a way to live better, couldn’t we just change our habits in ways compatible with our daily lifestyle and our bank accounts? Giving ourselves, in passing, also permission to grow old. Because there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. Isn’t that liberating?