Growing Old Study by Pew Research Finds Big Gap
Between Senior Citizens and Younger Americans
Seniors report fewer benefits of aging than
younger adults expect, such as more time with family, traveling for
pleasure, more time for hobbies, doing volunteer work or starting a
second career
June 30, 2009 Getting old isn't nearly as bad as
people think it will be. Nor is it quite as good, according to a new
Pew Research Center Social & Demographic Trends survey on aging.
It is a broad ranging study on aspects of everyday
life from mental acuity to physical dexterity to sexual activity to
financial security.
And, the researchers find a sizable gap between the
expectations that young and middle-aged adults have about old age and
the actual experiences reported by older Americans themselves.
In
typical Pew Research Center style, the study results are well documented
and explained by many graphics.
The disparities come into sharpest focus when
survey respondents are asked about a series of negative benchmarks often
associated with aging, such as illness, memory loss, an inability to
drive, an end to sexual activity, a struggle with loneliness and
depression, and difficulty paying bills.
In every instance, older adults report experiencing
them at lower levels (often far lower) than younger adults expect to
encounter them when they grow old. At the same time, however, older
adults report experiencing fewer of the benefits of aging that younger
adults expect to enjoy when they grow old, such as spending more time
with their family, traveling more for pleasure, having more time for
hobbies, doing volunteer work or starting a second career.
Most Markers of Old
Age Differ for Young and Old
When Does Old Age Begin?
These generation gaps in perception also extend to
the most basic question of all about old age: When does it begin? Survey
respondents ages 18 to 29 believe that the average person becomes old at
age 60. Middle-aged respondents put the threshold closer to 70, and
respondents ages 65 and above say that the average person does not
become old until turning 74.
Other potential markers of old age -- such as
forgetfulness, retirement, becoming sexually inactive, experiencing
bladder control problems, getting gray hair, having grandchildren -- are
the subjects of similar perceptual gaps. For example, nearly two-thirds
of adults ages 18 to 29 believe that when someone "frequently forgets
familiar names," that person is old. Less than half of all adults ages
30 and older agree.
However, a handful of potential markers -- failing
health, an inability to live independently, an inability to drive,
difficulty with stairs -- engender agreement across all generations
about the degree to which they serve as an indicator of old age.
Highlights include:
Grow Older, Feel Younger
The survey findings would seem to confirm the old
saw that you're never too old to feel young. In fact, it shows that the
older people get, the younger they feel-relatively speaking.
Moreover, the gap in years between actual age and
"felt age" widens as people grow older. Nearly half of all survey
respondents ages 50 and older say they feel at least 10 years younger
than their chronological age. Among respondents ages 65 to 74, a third
say they feel 10 to 19 years younger than their age, and one-in-six say
they feel at least 20 years younger than their actual age.
One-point decrease on social activity scale was
equivalent to being approximately five years older at the start of the
study - risk of death, disability jump
Old folks who live longest are happy, healthy, rich
people that don't smoke and control drinking. Was that ever a mystery?
Is this the study to no where?
To be sure, there are burdens that come with old
age. About one-in-four adults ages 65 and older report experiencing
memory loss. About one-in-five say they have a serious illness, are not
sexually active, or often feel sad or depressed. About one-in-six report
they are lonely or have trouble paying bills. One-in-seven cannot drive.
One-in-ten say they feel they aren't needed or are a burden to others.
But when it comes to these and other potential problems related to old
age, the share of younger and middle-aged adults who report expecting to
encounter them is much higher than the share of older adults who report
actually experiencing them.
Those with low incomes are more likely than those
with high incomes to face these challenges. The only exception to this
pattern has to do with sexual inactivity; the likelihood of older adults
reporting a problem in this realm of life is not correlated with income.
The Upside of Getting Old
When asked about a wide range of potential benefits
of old age, seven-in-ten respondents ages 65 and older say they are
enjoying more time with their family. About two-thirds cite more time
for hobbies, more financial security and not having to work. About
six-in-ten say they get more respect and feel less stress than when they
were younger. Just over half cite more time to travel and to do
volunteer work.
Of all the good things about getting old, the best
by far, according to older adults, is being able to spend more time with
family members. In response to an open-ended question, 28% of those ages
65 and older say that what they value most about being older is the
chance to spend more time with family, and an additional 25% say that
above all, they value time with their grandchildren. A distant third on
this list is having more financial security, which was cited by 14% of
older adults as what they value most about getting older.
People Are Living Longer
These survey findings come at a time when older
adults account for record shares of the populations of the United States
and most developed countries. Some 39 million Americans, or 13% of the
U.S. population, are ages 65 and older -- up from 4% in 1900. The
century-long expansion in the share of the world's population that is 65
and older is the product of dramatic advances in medical science and
public health as well as steep declines in fertility rates. In this
country, the increase has leveled off since 1990, but it will start
rising again when the first wave of the nation's 76 million baby boomers
turn 65 in 2011.
By 2050, according to
Pew Research projections, about one-in-five Americans will be over
age 65, and about 5% will be ages 85 and older, up from 2% now. These
ratios will put the U.S. at mid-century roughly where Japan, Italy and
Germany -- the three "oldest" large countries in the world -- are today.
Contacting Older Adults
Any survey that focuses on older adults confronts
one obvious methodological challenge: A small but not insignificant
share of people 65 and older are either too ill or incapacitated to take
part in a 20-minute telephone survey, or they live in an institutional
setting such as a nursing home where they cannot be contacted.
Pew assumed that the older adults we were unable to
reach for these reasons have a lower quality of life, on average, than
those we did reach. To mitigate this problem, the survey included
interviews with more than 800 adults whose parents are ages 65 or older.
Pew asked these adult children many of the same
questions about their parents' lives that we asked of older adults about
their own lives. These "surrogate" respondents provide a window on the
experiences of the full population of older adults, including those we
could not reach directly. Not surprisingly, the portrait of old age they
draw is somewhat more negative than the one painted by older adult
respondents themselves. We present a summary of these second-hand
observations at the end of Section I in the belief that the two
perspectives complement one another and add texture to our report.
Perceptions about Aging
The Generation Gap, Circa 2009.
In a 1969 Gallup Poll, 74% of respondents said
there was a generation gap, with the phrase defined in the survey
question as "a major difference in the point of view of younger people
and older people today." When the same question was asked a decade
later, in 1979, by CBS and The New York Times, just 60% perceived a
generation gap.
But in perhaps the single most intriguing finding
in this new Pew Research survey, the share that say there is a
generation gap has spiked to 79% -- despite the fact that there have
been few overt generational conflicts in recent times of the sort that
roiled the 1960s.
When Does Old Age Begin?
At 68. That's the average of all answers from the
2,969 survey respondents. But as noted above, this average masks a wide,
age-driven variance in responses. More than half of adults under age 30
say the average person becomes old even before turning 60. Just 6% of
adults who are age 65 or older agree. Moreover, gender as well as age
influences attitudes on this subject.
Women, on average, say a person becomes old at age
70. Men, on average, put the number at 66. In addition, on all 10 of the
non-chronological potential markers of old age tested in this survey,
men are more inclined than women to say the marker is a proxy for old
age.
Are You Old?
Certainly not! Public opinion in the aggregate may
decree that the average person becomes old at age 68, but you won't get
too far trying to convince people that age that the threshold applies to
them. Among respondents ages 65-74, just 21% say they feel old. Even
among those who are 75 and older, just 35% say they feel old.
What Age Would You Like to Live To?
The average response from our survey respondents is
89. One-in-five would like to live into their 90s, and 8% say they'd
like to surpass the century mark. The public's verdict on the most
desirable life span appears to have ratcheted down a bit in recent
years. A 2002 AARP survey found that the average desired life span was
92.
Everyday Life
What Do Older People Do Every Day?
Among all adults ages 65 and older, nine-in-ten
talk with family or friends every day. About eight-in-ten read a book,
newspaper or magazine, and the same share takes a prescription drug
daily. Three-quarters watch more than a hour of television; about the
same share prays daily. Nearly two-thirds drive a car. Less than half
spend time on a hobby. About four-in-ten take a nap; about the same
share goes shopping. Roughly one-in-four use the internet, get vigorous
exercise or have trouble sleeping. Just 4% get into an argument with
someone. As adults move deeper into their 70s and 80s, daily activity
levels diminish on most fronts-especially when it comes to exercising
and driving. On the other hand, daily prayer and daily medication both
increase with age.
Are Older Adults Happy?
They're about as happy as everyone else, Pew finds.
And perhaps more importantly, the same factors that predict happiness
among younger adults-good health, good friends and financial security-by
and large predict happiness among older adults.
However, there are a few age-related differences in
life's happiness sweepstakes. Most notably, once all other key
demographic variables are held constant, being married is a predictor of
happiness among younger adults but not among older adults (perhaps
because a significant share of the latter group is made up of widows or
widowers, many of whom presumably have "banked" some of the key
marriage-related correlates of happiness, such as financial security and
a strong family life).
Among all older adults, happiness varies very
little by age, gender or race.
Retirement and Old Age.
Retirement is a place without clear borders. Fully
83% of adults ages 65 and older describe themselves as retired, but the
word means different things to different people. Just three-quarters of
adults (76%) 65 and older fit the classic stereotype of the retiree who
has completely left the working world behind. An additional 8% say they
are retired but are working part time, while 2% say they are retired but
working full time and 3% say they are retired but looking for work. The
remaining 11% of the 65-and-older population describe themselves as
still in the labor force, though not all of them have jobs.
Living Arrangements.
More than nine-in-ten respondents ages 65 and older
live in their own home or apartment, and the vast majority are either
very satisfied (67%) or somewhat satisfied (21%) with their living
arrangements. However, many living patterns change as adults advance
into older age. For example, just 30% of adults ages 65-74 say they live
alone, compared with 66% of adults ages 85 and above. Also, just 2% of
adults ages 65-74 and 4% of adults ages 75-84 say they live in an
assisted living facility, compared with 15% of those ages 85 and above.
Old-School Social Networking.
The great majority of adults ages 65 and older
(81%) say they have people around them, other than family, on whom they
can rely on for social activities and companionship. About
three-quarters say they have someone they can talk to when they have a
personal problem; six-in-ten say they have someone they can turn to for
help with errands, appointments and other daily activities.
The Twitter Revolution Hasn't Landed Here.
If there's one realm of modern life where old and
young behave very differently, it's in the adoption of newfangled
information technologies. Just four-in-ten adults ages 65-74 use the
internet on a daily basis, and that share drops to just one-in-six among
adults 75 and above. By contrast, three-quarters of adults ages 18-30 go
online daily.
The generation gap is even wider when it comes to
cell phones and text messages. Among adults 65 and older, just 5% get
most or all of their calls on a cell phone, and just 11% sometimes use
their cell phone to send or receive a text message. For adults under age
30, the comparable figures are 72% and 87%, respectively.
Religion and Old Age.
Religion is a far bigger part of the lives of older
adults than younger adults. Two-thirds of adults ages 65 and older say
religion is very important to them, compared with just over half of
those ages 30 to 49 and just 44% of those ages 18 to 29.
Moreover, among adults ages 65 and above, a third
(34%) say religion has grown more important to them over the course of
their lives, while just 4% say it has become less important and the
majority (60%) say it has stayed the same. Among those who are over 65
and report having an illness or feeling sad, the share who say that
religion has become more important to them rises to 43%.
Family Relationships
Staying in Touch with the Kids.
Nearly nine-in-ten adults (87%) ages 65 and older
have children. Of this group, just over half are in contact with a son
or daughter every day, and an additional 40% are in contact with at
least one child-either in person, by phone or by email-at least once a
week.
Mothers and daughters are in the most frequent
contact; fathers and daughters the least.
Sons fall in the middle, and they keep in touch
with older mothers and fathers at equal rates. Overall, three-quarters
of adults who have a parent or parents ages 65 and older say they are
very satisfied with their relationship with their parent(s), but that
share falls to 62% if a parent needs help caring for his or her needs.
Was the Great Bard Mistaken?
Shakespeare wrote that the last of the "seven ages
of man" is a second childhood. Through the centuries, other poets and
philosophers have observed that parents and children often reverse roles
as parents grow older. Not so, says the Pew Research survey. Just 12% of
parents ages 65 and older say they generally rely on their children more
than their children rely on them.
Intergenerational Transfers within Families.
Despite these reported patterns of non-reliance,
older parents and their adult children do help each other out in a
variety of ways. However, the perspectives on these transfers of money
and time differ by generation. For example, about half (51%) of parents
ages 65 and older say they have given their children money in the past
year, while just 14% say their children have given them money.
The intra-family accounting comes out quite
differently from the perspective of adult children. Among survey
respondents who have a parent or parents ages 65 or older, a quarter say
they received money from a parent in the past year, while an almost
equal share (21%) say they gave money to their parent(s).
Not surprisingly, as parents advance deeper into
old age, both they and the adult children who have such parents report
that the balance of assistance tilts more toward children helping
parents.
Conversations about End-of-Life Matters.
More than three-quarters of adults ages 65 and
older say they've talked with their children about their wills; nearly
two-thirds say they've talked about what to do if they can no longer
make their own medical decisions, and more than half say they've talked
with their children about what to do if they can no longer live
independently.
Similar shares of adult children of older parents
report having had these conversations. Parents and adult children agree
that it is the parents who generally initiate these conversations,
though 70% of older adults report that this is the case, compared with
just 52% of children of older parents who say the same.
>> For a longer summary of the study
click here.
>> Read the full report including methodology and
topline survey findings at
pewsocialtrends.org
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