Perceptions on Aging are Changing in America

New Parker Study Unveils Surprises in How Americans View the Golden Years

PISCATAWAY, N.J., May 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second year in a row, Parker conducted a national survey to gauge changing perceptions around aging in America. The results reveal that Americans have an overall positive outlook on aging.

Seven in ten Americans do not consider people in their 50s and 60s to be “old,” while 73% of those surveyed do not fear or worry about aging very much or at all.

“The tide is shifting and more Americans of all ages are starting to realize that older people can do great things,” says Parker President and CEO Roberto Muñiz. “At Parker, we celebrate aging as the time to continue to learn and explore. A vast majority of those we surveyed believe that 80 is not too old to run a marathon, run for government or even practice yoga.”

56% of those surveyed used positive words like “hopeful,” “relevant and “vibrant to describe the aging experience.

The goal of the Aging in America Survey is to track opinions over time, helping to inform the conversation around aging in America?and how we can move from society telling us what we can’t do as we grow older to focusing on what we want to do.

Additional results from the survey include:

• Four in five Baby Boomers (50s/60s) don’t consider themselves to be old and seven in ten Americans do not consider people in their 50s and 60s to be “old.”
• Two in five Americans used negative words like “scary,” “depressing,” and “lonely,” representing a notable decrease from 2017.
• Americans still feel that Silicon Valley needs to pay more attention to its elders. Three in five Americans feel that not enough technology innovation focuses on the lifestyle needs of older people.

About Parker

Parker is a non-for-profit, New Jersey-based aging services organization with over 110 years’ experience that is committed to empowering older Americans. Our award-winning standards and approaches have made us a pioneer of inclusive aging services and long-term care residences, and a national thought leader on the conversation around aging in America. Parker has been challenging, changing, and expanding the idea of what it means to grow older in America and how all of us can make aging part of life. People are defying stereotypes and misconceptions about aging by being themselves. Parker defines that as #WithIt.