Ageism abounds in all areas of life, including media messaging, personal encounters, and internalized ageism—one’s own acceptance of negative notions about aging (for example, that feeling lonely, sad, or depressed is an inevitable part of getting older).
93%
Percentage of older adults who say they regularly experience at least one of 10 forms of ageism, which include the assumption that older people have difficulty with cell phones and computers and that they don’t do anything important or valuable. These data were drawn from the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging, with a representative sample of 2,035 U.S. adults ages 50 to 80.
80%
Percentage of older adults who agreed with the statement that “having health concerns is part of getting older”—even though 83% said their health was good or very good. However, the higher a person’s score on reported ageism, the more likely they were to report poor physical or mental health.
65%
Percentage of older adults who say they regularly see, hear, or read jokes or other messages suggesting that older adults are unattractive or undesirable. Those who reported spending four or more hours a day watching television, browsing the internet, or reading magazines scored higher in this domain than those who reported spending less time with these media.
45%
Percentage of older adults who reported incidents of interpersonal ageism—experiences where the respondent felt that another person assumed that they were having trouble using technology, seeing, hearing, understanding, remembering, or doing something independently.
