You’ve likely integrated a diversity, equity, inclusion program or awareness training over the past few years. Maybe even added some brand guidelines to make sure the verbiage you use is inclusive and photos you use in your promotions reflect a diverse audience. But, have you implemented an aging lens? You might not know that ageism is the most common form of discrimination affecting every race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.
This month, we celebrated Ageism Awareness Day which makes it a great opportunity for me to share with you a few facts about the changes in the U.S. population. I have two clients focused on older adults and we have realized that if you aren’t working specifically with older adults, you might not realize this major shift that is upon us. I’m taking this time hoping it will shed some light on this important shift in our population and offering some tips to be prepared.
Boomers and then some!
In 2030, all baby boomers will be older than 65. And in 2034, the population tips to the elders when there will be an estimated 77.0 million people 65 years and older, compared to 76.5 million under the age of 18. Older adults will outnumber children for the first time in U.S. history. The sociologists and statisticians who monitor these things make ongoing adjustments as they study the influences on each portion of the population, but regardless of what we call these generations of the population, we have a great number of people who are aging, and the segment of older adults will grow steadily.
The baby boomers have long been considered a bulge in the population with about 70 million people. They are indeed a large portion of the population outnumbering the generations before them (the greatest generation and the silent generation), but here’s the thing, those boomers are parents to a larger generation we call millennials, and they number over 72 million. Gen X is about 65 million between the two. Gen Z’s population that follows millennials is almost the same as boomers with a little over 69 million. What was thought to be an anomaly was the start of a population growth trend. Gen Alpha (born 2013-now) is around 43 million but that generation is not complete yet. If there is another baby boom, the scales might not tip, but that would require a large spike in birthrates. Considering that 2023 marked the fewest number of babies born in a year since 1979. It doesn’t look likely that the projections will change.
Source: Statista, AP News
What does this mean to you as a professional?
Even if you don’t serve older adults directly, an older adult might be the person bringing your clients in for services (grandparents as parents). Older adults can also be a source of volunteers, board members, or even part-time employees after they retire from their careers.
There are many attributes to consider. I am offering you a cursory list to get you started.
First, think about the place you deliver your product. If that’s in a physical office versus a virtual site, you need to go beyond ADA requirements for accessibility and consider the widths of doors for people using assistive walking equipment, look at the transitions from carpet to flooring that can trick one’s depth perception, stairs leading up to your door or inside the office can be difficult to navigate, the color, size, and placement of signage. Taking it a step further, there’s a whole suite of adaptations to be considered a dementia-friendly business.
Second, do your systems work for older adults? Do you allot enough time to complete forms? are your signs or menu board readable? Train your staff to be ready to explain things using different terms, not repeating the same sentence louder assuming it’s their hearing and not a processing issue. In addition, avoid patronizing child talk. If you have an automated phone service, make sure it is easy to understand, and the instructions are easy to follow.
Unless every adult commits to keeping relevant by adopting new technology, the digital divide will remain. The adage “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” applies here. The metaphoric dog here doesn’t want to learn, they just want the services. It could be that AI will make new tech easier to use or that developers will focus on the older population and design things that are simpler and based on what they are familiar with, we’ll see. But I think it is shortsighted to assume that because today’s millennials are digital natives, they will therefore always adopt new technology.
Plan for your own golden years
If you watched the Emmy awards this year, you might have noticed that when “Hacks” won the Emmy for the best comedy of the year, show co-creator, writer and actor Paul W. Downs said the following that reveals at least he gets it and will pave the way for a better future for himself.
“… you know when we pitched this show about two women one of whom was over 60, we did not know if we would sell it. … you know there are about 20% of our population [who] is over 60 plus and they’re only 3% of those characters on television and I would like to see more of them because while I’m a great young supporting actor I really want to be a good old lead.”
You can watch the whole presentation here.
If you are planning to be lucky enough to reach elderly status, you want to do what Downs points out. Pay it forward, essentially. What does an age-friendly world look like to you? What does your neighborhood need to accommodate your possible needs?
Different types of ageism
The American Society on Aging outlines these types of ageism.
- Internalized ageism: How we feel about ourselves as aging people.
- Implicit ageism: The unconscious bias that includes attitudes, feelings and behaviors toward people of other age groups that operates without conscious awareness or intention.
- Interpersonal ageism: Ageist comments and behavior that happen between people when they interact. This may be negative, but well-meaning while based on stereotypes.
- Benevolent ageism: Patronizing beliefs or behaviors that older people need to be protected, because they are no longer able to make decisions for themselves. Also demonstrated in Elderspeak, addressing older adults as if they can’t make decisions on their own, speaking in a higher pitch and more slowly, with simple words, as if speaking to a child.
- Cultural ageism: The everyday, invisible, profoundly ingrained and normalized negative messages about aging and old people embedded in movies, TV, songs, jokes, etc.
- Institutional ageism: Unfair age-based restrictions in laws, policies, and practices of public and private institutions.
You can see more facts on ageism at the American Society on Aging’s website.
Free training you can take
If you want to be proactive and prepare your staff to be aware and sensitive to the challenges of older adults, you can enroll in SCAN Independence at Home’s Trading Ages® training. It is free and offered online or you can request a training for your staff and/or volunteers in-person. Look at the calendar online at www.IndependenceatHome.com or call 1-866-421-1964.
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