Nobody likes to think of themselves becoming old, but eventually, most of us – the luckier ones perhaps – are going to get there. While we may not envisage what we’ll eventually look like as mature beings, many of us are planning for it, and incase you needed a visual reminder to help keep you motivated, Merrill Edge – the brokerage wing of the Bank of America – has you covered with its web app – Face Retirement.
After submitting a snap of your face through your webcam and selecting your age and gender, Face Retirement will attempt to show you what kind of changes your beautiful mugshot will take as the decades roll on. The results are pretty unflattering – so much so, in fact, that I won’t be showcasing the outcome of my own portrait – but humorous nonetheless.
It may prompt you into making some real changes in your life – be it skincare, diet, financially or otherwise – but in the interim period, you could always share it with your friends on Facebook. While those on your friends list will no doubt get a cheap laugh from a vastly-aged you, but the Bank of America will also get a little bit of advertising.
The idea, or moral of the story, is to help people engage with their older selves. Putting the idea of one day becoming old to the back of our minds is one thing, but as research by Wired points out, many folks don’t save up a little nest-egg or financially plan for the future because they don’t identify with that older version of themselves that they will inevitably become.
One thing I’ve noticed about the changing faces of me, is that at 67, the droop in the face really takes on new depths, and the miserable aura takes on a much more depressed look.
The app, which the Bank of America created with the help of virtual makeover technology experts ModiFace, bears a striking resemblance to Old Booth – a popular app for iOS. These kinds of apps are great fun, and we highly encourage you give it a try.
To have fun – and maybe learn a lesson or two in the process, please follow this link: faceretirement.merrilledge.com
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