“Every 4 or 5 years, our perceived onset of old age has shifted one year or higher,” said Wettstein, who, along with a team of researchers from the Humboldt University of Berlin, examined data collected from over 14,000 German adults born during the 20th century, starting in 1911. Their findings, published in late April, showed that while there was a trend among people born later to believe that old age started later in life than those who were born earlier, it may not continue into the future. One reason is the increase in life expectancy has slowed, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a factor that Wettstein said holds important implications for today’s younger adults who might ultimately struggle to age with grace and in health. “Though we found that nowadays, individuals feel younger than individuals did in the past, other studies have shown that stereotypes about aging have become more negative over time, especially in the U.S.,“ Wettstein said. In North America in particular, these attitudes depict older people as a homogenous group living with frailty, poor health, dependency, and mental decline. “The thing is, you get older and at some point in time, you become the victim of your own stereotypes and they become a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

The Digital Divide and Family Ties

Perhaps one of the most important factors driving changing trends around perceptions of old age has been digitization. For many late baby boomers and Gen Xers (who have learned to toe the digital divide), technology has been a boon to work, access, and health. But the impact on digital natives – millennials and Gen Z – may be permanent.

While the topic is just starting to be studied in earnest, there is research suggesting that social deprivation during key developmental years not only produces changes in the brain, but may also increase feelings of loneliness and decrease happiness – factors that have been shown to accelerate aging, including an increase in chronic conditions in older years. Wettstein and his co-researchers also pointed out that differences in loneliness in the study, especially in middle age, possibly resulted in differing perceptions.

“While social connections are happening online, there’s less connecting in person and seeing its value and impact. It doesn’t come naturally,” said Shira Schuster, PhD, a psychologist at the Williamsburg Therapy Group in Brooklyn, NY. “I’ve had a lot of younger patients tell me that they’d rather not speak to a person, say, to make a dinner reservation. How do you convince them that that could have detrimental long-term effects?” Strong family ties, including the presence of older adults in the home or in the lives of adolescents, has also been associated with almost a 50% greater likelihood of flourishing, according to research. “We’ve created almost every technological convenience – the car, the telephone, the airplane, the internet – everything to advance us and make life more convenient,” said Wendy Tayer, PhD, a geropsychologist at the University of California-San Diego Health. “But the cost of that is that it’s separated us physically; since the family has broken apart, we’ve become less informed about aging and less respectful of it.” Minorva Ceide, MD, a geriatric psychiatrist and associate professor of geriatrics and psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, agreed.