How old, is old?

Looking at the research on this

As a researcher it is fascinating to read definitions within academic articles. Many written by younger academics spoke about the elderly subjects who were still in their 40s or 50s.

Elderly conjures up images of a frail older person, probably walking with a stick and needing help. I much prefer the word older as opposed to younger. Less value judgement there.

For my research I used 3 different categories. The ages aren’t fixed, its more around the descriptions.

The young olds – y-olds

These are between the ages of 60 and 75/80. In my book, Rethinking Retirement, I write:

The y-olds sound like a pop group, and it’s a term I frequently used during both my academic research and writing this book. In fact, I consider myself one of them! We are the people between the conventional end of working age and old age. We are in relatively good health, we want to work on our terms, and, most importantly, we want to live, because we never know how long we have. There is so much to do, and it’s not just for ourselves but how we can offer more to the wider world. We want to feel that we matter. Part 3 will get us thinking about this.

The olds

And then one day we feel like it is time to stop working, we may continue but it is very much part-time. We probably need to rest more and find it challenging to continue with our life-style so we need to learn to make adjustments. We can see ourselves in a different place in society. Our identity might take a knock and we may lose some self-confidence.

The old-olds

These are probably ages 90+. A bit like my mum (above). She is more frail. She has carers that come in each day to check she is ok and help her to wash/shower. Some will remain active, with some adjustments. Still full of life and a great inspiration to younger people. They manage any pain and physical challenges. They are possibly thinking of their non-financial legacy. Every day can feel like a bonus. But for some they can wish for the end. They are in pain and they focus on everything they have lost. They ruminate on their earlier life.

There have been a few articles in the media on how people see old age as starting later than it used to.

“Middle-aged and older adults believe that old age begins later in life than their peers did decades ago, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association”.

Rather than focus on the articles, I went to the original research. There is so much richness to the actual research that has got lost in short articles. For now, let me focus on what is relevant to this article topic.

Research Summary

TL; DR

Research led by Markus Wettstein, PhD, and colleagues examined perceptions of old age using data from the German Ageing Survey.

They found that people born later in the 20th century see old age beginning later in life, around age 74, compared to earlier generations who perceived it starting around age 71.

This trend has slowed in recent years, and as individuals age, they tend to push the onset of old age further out, adding approximately one year every 4-5 years.

Factors such as education level, health status, and loneliness influence when individuals perceive old age to begin.

There's debate on whether the trend towards postponing old age reflects more positive views on ageing or a perception of old age as an undesirable state.

Delaying consideration of old age might leave individuals ill-prepared for the challenges of later life.

Old age is now seen to start at 75 rather than 71.

Markus Wettstein, PhD, alongside colleagues from Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, Stanford University, the University of Luxembourg, and the University of Greifswald, Germany, embarked on a study investigating perceptions of old age, utilizing data from the comprehensive German Ageing Survey (14,056 participants).

Their analysis found that peoples born later in the 20th century tended to perceive the onset of old age later in life compared to their predecessors.  All participants were asked the same question at age 65 - At what age would you describe someone as old? It rose from 71 for those born in 1911 to 74 for those born in 1965.  

The pace of this shift has slowed more recently. They also found that as we age, we tend to extend our definition of when old age starts to a later age. Adding an extra year every 4-5 years. People with higher levels of education can see old age as starting later.

Our view can be affected by our health. Be in good health and we see old age as starting later than if we have poor health and also if we are more lonely.

“People might interpret loneliness as a consequence of being old, so that persons who feel lonely in midlife might in consequence prepone their perceived start of old age.”

Other studies have shown old age to start earlier, but that is when the participants include teenagers. The researchers say, based on the age effect they found, that individuals aged 25, rather than 65 would see old age as 65.

Something to discuss another time is that if we see old age as starting a long way into the future, we can postpone any consideration of old age and be ill equipped for the challenges of later life. We can also see old age as a time in the future as we have absorbed negative views on ageing.

An interesting conclusion

“It is unclear to what extent the trend towards postponing old age reflects a trend towards more positive views on older people and ageing, or rather the opposite—perhaps the onset of old age is postponed because people consider being old to be an undesirable state.”

Your views

You have read my views; do you have a view on when old age begins? How do you respond when you hear others refer to you or other people as old? Do you challenge the word elderly?

Till next time, Denise