Attitudes Towards Aging and Ageism

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Age represents a wealth of knowledge because you have lived and learned.

Female, 50-59¹

When asked how they feel about getting older, adults 50-plus highlight positive perspectives on aging, an understanding that they have valuable contributions to make enhanced by years of accumulated knowledge, wisdom and experience and a lot to look forward to. Older adults also report feeling more comfortable being their authentic selves. At the same time, attitudes towards aging are not just a matter of personal perspective – they are a product of ideas that come from all facets of society and culture. Many recognize ageism when they see it in their everyday lives, and also have internalized negative attitudes towards getting older that could be harmful to their mental and even physical health.² Topics related to this include:

• Attitudes towards aging
• Ageism in media/representation
• Ageism at work
• Ageism and health/medicine

Attitudes Towards Aging

The vast majority of adults 50-plus report feeling positive about aging and comfortable with themselves as they age. While self-reported positive feelings outshine self-reported negative ones, feelings can be mixed and are influenced by societal and internalized beliefs about age.

Most (81%) older adults 50-plus say they are aging well, and three-quarters (76%) say they have a lot to look forward to as they age. Seven in ten are confident about aging and have optimistic attitudes towards aging.⁵ Fewer, although still a significant portion agree with statements such as “I worry about being able to live independently,” and “I feel concerned about aging.”

Older adults’ weakest association is with the statement saying “I feel helpless about aging,” indicating that most feel like they are in control of and have agency over their aging process. And of all segments, older Black adults are least likely to say they feel helpless about aging. In general, older Black adults reveal a more positive outlook around aging compared to their White and Hispanic counterparts. They are also most likely to say they will continue to make a difference in the world as they age. This desire for change-making with age embodies Black Americans’ cultural trait of determination.⁶

adults ages 50-80 report regularly experiencing at least one form of everyday ageism in their day-to-day lives. These forms of ageism include exposure to ageist messages, ageism in interpersonal interactions and internalized ageism (having personally held beliefs about aging and older people).⁷

While older adults view aging as a process of continued progression, research among older adults also finds internalized ageism.

This includes self-stereotyping, negative self-perceptions of aging, negative attitudes towards one’s own aging, or perceiving oneself as too old.⁹ In the National Poll on Healthy Aging, thirty-six percent (36%) of adults ages 50–80 endorsed at least one form of internalized ageism based on their agreement that feeling lonely (29%) or feeling depressed, sad, or worried (26%) are a normal part of getting older.¹⁰

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So many worries go through my mind all the time. Like how many more years do I have and when is my health going to start failing, as I watch my mother-in-law grow older and get weaker every day…My wrinkles and gray hair…

Female, 51, in response to being asked what worries they have¹²

Almost half of older adults ages 50-80 report experiencing “interpersonal” ageism.

Interpersonal ageism encompasses “experiences involving another person, where the older person felt it was assumed that they were having trouble with using technology, seeing, hearing, understanding, remembering, or doing something independently – or that they don’t do anything valuable.” People who have lower levels of income or education, and those who live in rural areas reported a higher incidence of ageism, along with older adults who reported spending more time watching or reading media.¹³

Although ageism affects adults of all ages, for many adults, ageism accompanies getting older and is especially felt in one’s 60s in interactions with others.

Two in ten adults in their 50s, compared to over three in ten adults 60 and older reported having experienced ageism in their personal interactions since turning 40 years old to some extent or to a great extent.¹⁴ In fact, those in their 60s are most likely to report experiencing ageism compared to their younger and older counterparts.

Even more adults than have reported experiencing interpersonal ageism themselves believe that society and culture is organized to discriminate against older people.

Over three in five (62%) adults 50-plus agree that systemic ageism, or discrimination on the basis of age across all levels of society,¹⁵ is happening at least to some extent.¹⁶ Women and Black adults 50-plus are somewhat more likely to believe this is happening to a great extent, which could be related to intersectionality, that is experiencing sexism, racism, and ageism simultaneously.

of adults ages 50-80 said they are regularly exposed to ageist messages including seeing, hearing or reading jokes about older people, or messages that older adults are unattractive or undesirable.¹⁸

Ageism in Media/Representation

Older adults can not only be misrepresented in media via visual ageism and stereotypes, but they can also not be represented or considered as an audience at all.

One example is advertising that assumes older adults are only interested in a narrow set of products like assistive devices or hearing aids rather than a wide range of products serving their varied interests and well-being overall.¹⁹

Women of all ages believe that media and advertising often fail to represent women 50-plus in an authentic way.

Specifically, women 50 and older are represented authentically only about one in three times, according to women of all ages.²⁰

Women 50-plus see “reducing the signs of aging” to be the most popular beauty standard currently, a sign that ageism is embedded in culture.

According to experts, media’s perpetuation of “anti-aging culture” advances a multi-billion dollar anti-aging consumer industry.²¹ Only a quarter of women 50-plus indicate beauty standards for women celebrate “being uniquely yourself”, despite older adults embracing the process of getting older.

Ageism at Work

Older workers see and experience age discrimination in the workplace today.

Sixty-five percent (65%) of adults 50-plus in the workforce think workers face age discrimination in the workplace, based on what they have seen or experienced. This number is even higher among groups that have historically experienced workplace discrimination, including African American and Black workers, LGBTQ+ workers and women, related to and explained by the effect of intersectionality and how ageism intersects with other marginalized identities.²⁹ Almost half of workers 50-plus report having experienced age discrimination themselves.

Ageism and Health/Medicine

Health is not only impacted by ageism, but fair or poor health is also correlated with higher perceptions of everyday ageism.

Among adults ages 50-80, higher scores on the Everyday Ageism Scale³⁰ (based on an individual’s answers to 10 questions about their own experiences and beliefs regarding aging), were associated with lower self-reported physical and mental health, number of chronic conditions and depression symptoms.³¹

Ageism occurs in health care and has a real impact on treatment of older patients.

Ageism in health care can result in misdiagnoses or dismissing conditions as a feature of old age. Older patients with poor hearing may be treated as cognitively impaired or treatable conditions such as chronic pain may be dismissed. Another example of ageism in health care is elderspeak, where providers or staff may address older patients with terms of endearment like “honey” or “dear” which can be patronizing.^32,33

According to a World Health Organization report, a 2020 metanalysis showed that in 85% of 149 studies, age determined who received certain medical procedures or treatments. The AMA reports that “older people may be excluded from research studies, which skews results, or shunted off to physicians or other health professionals with limited knowledge of gerontology or less experience in treating of older patients.”³⁴

Ageism may compromise the social life of older adults and lead to loneliness.

Individuals may adopt the stereotypes of old age as a time of loneliness. And age-based discriminatory practices that increase social exclusion of older adults because of mandatory or forced retirement, for example, increase their risk of becoming lonely.^36,37

Key Takeaways

• Most older adults feel positive about the aging process; less than a third of all adults 50-plus indicate feeling helpless about aging, signifying a sense of control and confidence.

• However, a positive mindset and perceptions of aging as progression do not shield older adults from experiencing ageism, which amplifies in their 60s.

• Ageism is harmful in all its forms, some explicit, and others, subliminal. These range from everyday ageism in interpersonal interactions, ageist messaging in media and advertising, age discrimination in the workplace, to systemic ageism that becomes internalized.

• The onus of overcoming internalized ageism must not entirely fall on older adults. Structural factors, institutions, and individual actors all have a role to play in dismantling the ageist ideas that ultimately impact longevity.