It got me thinking: what does it mean to be old? And, how does one self-identify as old in an ageist society? Long ago, Bernard Baruch suggested that “old age is always fifteen years older than I am.” That sounds about right for most people. And, this recent Stanford Center on Longevity interview suggests that our societal perception of when old age begins is increasing by about a year and a half every decade due to people staying young and healthy longer. And, a German study suggested that old age now starts at 74 when it used to be 71.
And, then, there’s another study that shows that nearly half of people 65-74 consider themselves either young or middle-aged. This also supports one of the premises in my book “Learning to Love Midlife” which is that midlife runs from 35-75. I think Dorothy might be in that 7% of 75 and older who consider themselves young.
Let’s see what our readers think is the gateway to old age. If you go to this link, you can tell us at what age you think the average American hits the old age milestone and I’ll report back with the results soon. Just remember Harrison Ford’s line from “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “It’s not the years, Honey, it’s the mileage.”
-Chip