As May comes to a close, it came to my attention that this month is actually and officially “Older Americans Month.”
When it was designated in 1963, only 17 million living Americans had reached their 65th birthdays. In April of 1963, President John F. Kennedy’s meeting with the National Council of Senior Citizens served as a prelude to designating May as “Senior Citizens Month.”
It became a tradition. Every President decreed May as a Senior Citizen Month until President Jimmy Carter updated it and it was called “Older Americans Month.“ While we celebrate the intent, hopefully we’ll get another update and something a bit snappier sometime soon!
Terminology has been on my mind. I loved a recent NPR report “Silver Tsunami and Other Terms that Can Irk the Over-65 Set”. Noting that about one-fifth of the U.S. population will be 65 or older by the year 2030, the report explored the conundrum of what to call an important part of our population.
Nobody wants to be called old!
Defining generations is a tricky business. But it is particularly important for marketers to delineate. Life Course Associates, a consulting firm that assists marketers, breaks out Boomers (born between 1960 and 1943) now age 52-69 from the “Silent” generation (1925-1942) aged 70-87, and the “G.I. “ generation (1901-1924) aged 88 and older.
The Journal of Behavioral Studies in Business pretty much aligns with this generational breakout with some nuances. In its “Marketing to the Generations” it warns marketers: “While (Boomers) may be aging, they do not want to be reminded of that fact, that is, they are focused on anti-aging and breaking the mold of what 50 looks like. In accordance, marketers should not use these seven words for Boomers: senior citizen, retiree, aging, Golden Years, Silver Years, mature, and prime time of life.”
The researchers are absolutely right! It’s because most of us act young, feel young, and enjoy life! Personally, I dislike the terms: old people, seniors and senior citizens.
Marketers–especially those who come from a younger generation and don’t necessarily appreciate the sensitivities that come with aging—need to take heed. It’s all to easy to stereotype and risk being condescending. Although, in the technology sector, sadly and all too often there is a tendancy to ignore people of a certain age – no matter what the product.
So, what to call ourselves?
You can go to NPR and take the poll here on which terms you love and hate. (Okay, love may be too strong of a word for this list!) Here are the terms. Read them and weep – or laugh.
- Old (man, woman, person)
- Older Adult
- Older American
- Senior
- Senior Citizen
- Elderly (man, woman, person)
- Old Timer
- Elder
- Our Seniors
- Golden Years
- Successful Aging
- Positive Aging
- Silver Tsunami
- Geezer
- Silver Fox
- Geriatric
You can also leave comments. Some of the comments thus far are priceless. I love this one: “I’m 68 and will be middle-aged until someone starts shoveling dirt on me.”
For now, I’ll stick with Boomer – though it’s not even on the NPR list!