USA: Few see themselves as 'old,' no matter what their age

. WASHINGTON DC / USA Today / Health & Behaviour / June 29, 2009 By Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY If you've been telling yourself you're not old yet, you fit right in. No matter what their chronological age, most people say that they aren't yet "old" — and that they feel younger than their birthday count, according to a new nationally representative survey of almost 3,000 adults by the Pew Research Center. The average age considered "old" by respondents was 68 — but there were real differences in perception driven by the respondents' own ages: • More than half of those under 30 say the average person becomes old before 60. • Middle-aged respondents say it's closer to 70. • Those ages 65 and older say "old" is not until 75. "What you find is the older people are, the more people push back the age that is old," says Russell Ward, a sociologist who focuses on aging at the University at Albany, State University of New York, and who was not involved in the survey. "It's more in your future. You're not there yet." Frederick Augustyn Jr. of Greenbelt, Md., who heads the Aging and Senior Culture area of the Popular Culture Association, says Baby Boomers fuel such resistance because they grew up as a youth culture and don't want to give in to old age. "Twenty years ago, you would never see advertisements for hair dye for men," he says. "Now, almost all sports programs geared to a large male audience are promoting hair dye to look young. Before, gray hair used to be no big deal." Even among those considered "seniors" under the law, say for Social Security or Medicare purposes, most in the survey say they don't feel old. Among respondents ages 65 to 74, just 21% say they feel old. And among those 75 and older, just 35% say they feel old. Overall, 60% of those age 65 and older say they feel younger than their age. Almost half of those age 50 and older say they feel at least 10 years younger than their chronological age; among ages 65 to 74, one-third say they feel 10 to 19 years younger than their age. Why the focus on age? "We are becoming an older society, as are most advanced societies around the world, and we are about to hit a big new wave of adults entering older age," says Paul Taylor, who directs Pew's Social and Demographic Trends project. The study notes that about 39 million Americans, or 13% of the U.S. population, are 65 and older — a figure that has tripled from 4% in 1900. In two years, the oldest of the nation's 76 million Baby Boomers will turn 65. And by 2050, according to Pew Research projections, about one in five Americans will be over 65, and about 5% will be ages 85 and older, up from 2% now. Expectations and realities about aging in the survey also differ. Among those age 65 and older, the perceived downsides of aging (such as memory loss, illness, inability to drive or an end to sexual activity) aren't experienced as much as younger people think they'll be. Also, the perceived benefits of growing older (more time with family, more leisure travel, having more time for hobbies or volunteer work) are less than either age group thought they would be. Experts say the recession has reduced the "fun" part of retirement. The landline and cellphone survey of 2,969 U.S. adults was completed in March and includes 1,305 people age 65 and older and 1,664 ages 18 to 64. Pew also asked what age people would like to live to, and the average response was 89. About 20% said they would like to live into their 90s, and 8% said they would want to live past 100. [rc] Copyright 2008 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.