The results may come as a surprise and even a bit disheartening. Our contemporaries dedicate a significant amount of time to caring for their bodies and figures in hopes of looking younger. However, according to the younger generation, old age begins at just 35, and in some cases, even at 30 or 27. And those who indulge in elixirs of eternal youth should not deceive themselves with illusions.
How do young people perceive those older than themselves?
Researchers from the international educational platform EduBirdie surveyed 2,000 representatives of Generation Z and young millennials (Generation Y). The experts were curious about when respondents believe true old age begins.
For reference, Generation Y includes those born between 1981 and 1996, while Generation Z encompasses those born from 1997 to 2012.
The results revealed that one-fifth of all participants (13 percent of Zoomers and 7 percent of millennials) consider 35 to be the onset of old age. This is despite the fact that the oldest members of Generation Z are turning 28 this year.
It’s interesting to ponder how 35-year-old celebrities like Taylor Swift, Emma Watson, and Daniel Radcliffe will react to this verdict.
Twenty-six percent of volunteers from Generation Z and 20 percent from the millennial group assert that youth ends at 40. Will this news upset 40-year-olds like Cristiano Ronaldo and Katy Perry? Perhaps not too much, especially when they learn that 27-year-olds also received a harsh assessment. Only 3 percent of Zoomers and 2 percent of millennials view this age as youthful. Meanwhile, 30 years old is considered the twilight of life by 6 percent of respondents from each group.
Taylor Swift, Emma Watson, and Daniel Radcliffe
Not all participants were merciless
However, among those surveyed were individuals whose views on the age of old age were quite different. Twenty-one percent of Zoomers and 24 percent of millennials identified 50 as the starting point of old age, while 31 percent of the former and 41 percent of the latter believe it begins at 60 or older.
The researchers at EduBirdie also asked participants at what age they think people cease to be desirable. Fortunately, the responses were much more encouraging, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Forty-four percent of Zoomers and 33 percent of young millennials stated that aging does not make a person “automatically undesirable.”
This survey was conducted shortly after the results of another study indicated that, in people’s opinions, old age is now perceived to begin later than in previous years. According to researchers from Humboldt University in Berlin, older individuals feel that this period starts at 74 and beyond. Those who were once considered grandfathers and grandmothers due to their age are no longer viewed as such in society.
The increase in human lifespan has pushed the onset of old age to a later age, noted lead researcher Markus Wettstein.