The older we get, the older we get. Above all, the definition changes: it is no longer age that counts for seniors but another, more important feeling.
Ask a 20-year-old “how old are you?” then ask the same question to someone 30, 40 or 50 years old. The answers will all be different. This is normal: the perception of old age varies depending on the generation. However, there is an age on which all French people agree that one feels “old”. Given by seniors, this age shows that ultimately, a majority of people feel young for longer than we think. How old, then?
It’s in the Observatory “Old, at what age?” produced by Ipsos and the Zenior* platform, this age of old age is revealed. And several important lessons are demonstrated there. Already, the young adults surveyed (18-34 years old) believe that old age begins around age 50, while seniors largely push back this boundary. For them, growing old is not just a number, but another more important criterion. In addition, although the number of elderly people continues to grow in France, 59% of respondents believe that society does not value seniors at all or little. This impression is accompanied by a deep distrust of reception structures, perceived as unsuitable or too far removed from real needs.
The image of retirement homes is, for its part, degraded: 80% of respondents have a negative perception of them and only 5% consider them really effective in the event of loss of autonomy. Furthermore, 23% of French people believe that retirement homes are not a solution for aging well, while 22% believe that no satisfactory alternative currently exists. Faced with these reluctances, families remain the actors in whom the French most easily place their trust as they age (49%).
Regarding the age at which the majority of French people feel “old”, this is 69 years old. For 21% of respondents, the threshold is between 66 and 70 years old and almost one in two (46%) is 71 years old and over. The essential message behind these figures is: the older we get, the more we redefine what it means to age, and from then on, being “old” is no longer just a question of age, but also of autonomy and energy. Because that’s the criterion that counts above all others when we get older: being in shape and independent. Aging well, for those interviewed, does not only consist of living a long life, but of preserving one’s mobility, one’s mental health, one’s relationships and the possibility of still carrying out projects. This desire for autonomy remains central and reflects an idea now widely shared: being “old” does not depend only on how old we are, but on what we can still experience, create or transmit. And the tipping point would therefore be around the age of 70.
Despite their criticism, almost half of French people think that support systems could evolve, proof that they have not given up on the ambition of fairer, more respectful and better supported aging. For Alix Zeitlin, co-founder of Zenior: “When we see these figures, we understand that we must act. The distrust is not only due to recent scandals, but to a global vision: that of a model that is running out of steam, perceived as unsuitable for today’s needs.”
*Ipsos.Digital survey for La Nouvelle Agence and Zenior
