A US study has proven that our perception of later life is seriously skewed by our age – with turning 50 the same as hitting ‘old age’ for young adults in their teens and early 20s.
The survey of over 500,000 Americans aged 10 to 89 also found nearly 30,000 young people thought middle age started at 30 (what a lot they have to learn!)
But this belief about old age changed as the respondents aged. In short, the older we get, the younger we feel.
The researchers say the changing attitude towards ageing is understandable – we don’t want to think of ourselves as ‘old’.
But they also point out that older people are generally happier than young adults.
Interestingly, when they asked respondents how long they wanted to live, kids and young people named their early 90s, but this dropped into the 80’s for 30 to 40-year-olds.
Once we hit 50, it keeps rising again.
A sign our later years really are the best?
