At what age do we get “old”? This study answers!

A few decades ago, by blowing up its 65 candles, he marked the entry into old age unevenly. But that time is over! Thanks to medical advances and lengthening the life expectancy and thanks to the better quality of life in general, our gaze has changed deeply at age. Today, more and more senior people are professional, socially and physically active after this age, thus blurring traditional boundaries of aging.

So, do we really consider someone as “old” today? This is actually a question presented by the American Psychology Association. Published in his study, Journal psychologyThis finds out how the perception of old age has changed in generations by questioning adults of middle and advanced age.

Development of the perception of old age

Researchers have analyzed the reactions of more than 14,000 people in Germany, born between 1911 and 1974. For this question: “At what age will you describe someone as an old?” Results suggest that recent generations reject the age on which they consider the onset of old age. For example, at the age of 65, people born in 1911 considered old age at the age of 71, while people born in 1956 were 74 years old.

One of the authors of the study, Marcus Wetstein explains that life expectancy and increase in health reforms contribute to cancel the perception of old age. “Life expectancy has increased, which can help delay the appearance of old age, and some aspects of health have improved over time,” he said.

Discrimination between women and men to pay attention

The study also reveals the difference in perception according to the style of respondents. Women usually believe that old age is starting Two years later than menA trend that may be associated with their life expectancy and better management of their health over time. This difference is pronounced over time, perhaps the perceived health between the sexes, the variation in social isolation, which can play a role in the way every aging.

However, this decline in the alleged age of old age is not linear. According to Marcus Wetstein, this trend cannot continue indefinitely. It is also important to note that people consider themselves as only or as poor health, assuming that old age begins first, suggesting that the perception of aging is strongly affected by individual physical and psychological state.

Our perception can affect our age method

In a world where the creed of the youth is omnipresent, an old age is later believed to affect both behavior and expectations of individuals. Working for a long time, maintaining an active social life and engaging in new experiences becomes a more accessible objective than before. According to a study by the American Psychological Association, people who experience positively, have a positive age average life expectancy 7.5 years, which combines it with indispensable decline (APA, 2022). But this development is not without results on the social perception of the elderly. If old age is constantly postponed, expectations also develop Vij-e-Vis seniors.

One can question the impact of this incident in place of superiors in public policies, labor markets or society. For example, in some companies, the concept of “professional age” also decreases, with employees who live after prolonged and retirement age (OECD, 2023). However, this revaluation of aging also hides the vested pressure: aging “healthy” and the remaining “active” become social prohibition. Those who undergo more difficult aging, whether it can be more marginalized, due to health or isolation reasons. Additional research is necessary to understand all the implications of this phenomenon. Marcus Wetstein concluded: “Maybe the onset of old age is pushed back because people consider that old age is an unwanted state.»