The results may be surprising — even a little harsh. Many people spend a lot of time caring for their bodies to look younger. But according to the younger generation, old age starts at just 35 — sometimes as early as 30 or even 27. Anyone banking on “elixirs of youth” shouldn’t fool themselves.
How do young people perceive those older than themselves?
Researchers at the international educational platform EduBirdie surveyed 2,000 members of Generation Z and young millennials. They wanted to know when respondents think true old age begins.
For reference, Generation Y includes people born between 1981 and 1996, while Generation Z includes those born from 1997 to 2012.
The results showed that one-fifth of participants — 13 percent of Zoomers and 7 percent of millennials — see 35 as the start of old age. That’s striking considering the oldest Gen Zers are only turning 28 this year.
Many readers might wonder how 35-year-old celebrities like Taylor Swift, Emma Watson, and Daniel Radcliffe will react to that verdict.
Twenty-six percent of Gen Z and 20 percent of millennials say youth ends at 40. Will that bother 40-year-olds like Cristiano Ronaldo and Katy Perry? Maybe not — especially when you learn younger ages also got slammed. Only 3 percent of Zoomers and 2 percent of millennials say 27 is still youthful; 30 was chosen by 6 percent of respondents in each group.
Taylor Swift, Emma Watson, and Daniel Radcliffe
Not all participants were merciless
But not everyone was ruthless. Twenty-one percent of Zoomers and 24 percent of millennials picked 50 as the start of old age, while 31 percent of Gen Z and 41 percent of millennials said it begins at 60 or older.
EduBirdie also asked when people stop being desirable. The answers were more encouraging, according to the Daily Mail.
Forty-four percent of Gen Z and 33 percent of young millennials said aging does not make someone “automatically undesirable.”
The survey came shortly after another study found that people now place the start of old age much later than they used to. Researchers at Humboldt University in Berlin found older adults think old age begins at about 74 or later. People who were once labeled grandparents because of their age are no longer seen that way in society.
Lead researcher Markus Wettstein said increases in human lifespan have pushed the start of old age to a later age.
