We live in a special world and it looks like our genetic age is rising and rising. And that is a good thing. We get to live longer, if we are lucky also live more.
I have just passed forty years, and my body is showing some minor usage problems. Especially eyes are known to “get different” when one is passing forty. Diseases like glaucoma and macular degeneration can start soon and can be a problem for the person, especially when workforce today goes more and more towards computer usage.
When implementing accessibility you are actually doing your future self a big favor.
my thought…
It is not very likely that websites and apps I am working on now will still be around when I am sixty, so there is probably not directly applicable. But it is the right way to show my peer developers and also people that are maybe sixty now and need to zoom in to see or maybe even use a screen reader or voice assistant.
It looks like legislation will force us to take more care of accessibility, because it needs to, but we should really look into our personal futures to feel the benefits. If every digital product is as accessible as possible, then more people will be able to use it and maybe our future self in very near future is one of them.
On the other hand – it is every developer’s mission to create quality and respect standards, and accessibility is and should remain a standard that every code part must deliver.
If not for others – do it for yourself. If not for others – do it for your parents and grandparents. And if not for others – do it for your children.
