Aug 24, 2022
The Golden Girls and the most recent Sex and the City spin-off (Just Like That) are the same age. But, as we heard at the future of ageing safari, we're at risk of lumping over 12 million people together into one homogeneous segment - 'old'.
Boomers were the generation who cemented the transition from childhood to adulthood as 'adolescence'. Now they're now reframing and rethinking our perception of 'old age' and the transition to retirement. Welcome to your newest segment - gerontolescence.
So what?
Gerontolescence (currently categorised as 55-75 years old) is a time of self-discovery and exploration. People are changing their relationships, their jobs, their homes and their style. They're having more sex, starting their own businesses and taking on new hobbies, challenges and style.
But we're still lumping this group together with older audiences and the war generation. Making mass generalisations about their interests, technology use, aspirations and lifestyles.
We're marketing them incontinence pads and Parker pens, when what they want are sex symbols and the latest fashion trend. Skydiving. Not stairlifts. Iris Apfel and the GrimeGran. Not Michael Parkinson and Vera Lynn.
Want to find out more? The Age Buster have excellent interview with the man who coined the term gerontolescence - Alexandre Kalache, President of the International Longevity Centre-Brazil.