Old age is somewhere beyond the horizon
Is old age not a joy? Nothing like thatPOINT.
RU based on LiveScience materials
When do we get really old? People aged 18 to 29 believe that old age comes at 60. However, middle-aged people push this bar to 70 years. Those who have reached their 65th birthday believe that old age does not come before 74.
Such results were demonstrated by a survey conducted by the staff of the Pew Research Center in Washington (USA). The survey revealed striking differences between what young people expect from the onset of old age and the real state of things.
A good memory, good health and a full sexual life are the features of old age that can cause envy in any representative of the younger generation. 2,969 people took part in the survey. People aged 18 to 64 had to give an answer to the question of what they think will happen to them in the aging process. At the same time, survey participants who had reached the age of 65 were asked to describe what had actually happened to them by that time.
It turned out that 57% of respondents expect memory deterioration with age, while only 25% of 65-year-olds actually experience this problem. A similar situation is observed in other areas. 45% of young people believe that they will not be able to drive in old age, the real figures are 14%, 42% of respondents expect serious illnesses and only 21% of old people manage to acquire them by the age of 65, and loss of sexual activity is observed only in 21% of respondents, contrary to the assumed 34%.
This means that 79% of elderly people have sexual relations, although in their youth they did not expect that they would be capable of such feats at such an advanced age. Earlier research in this area showed that more than half of people aged 75 to 85 years have sex at least 2 times a month. And the absolute majority of them can then drive home in their own car. It should be noted that these facts should give older people a sense of confidence and happiness.
The data from the latest survey confirms the results obtained earlier, according to which, as the US population ages, they only become happier. The level of happiness in old age depends not so much on the state of health and the surrounding reality, as on personal attitude. This is confirmed by another study, according to which people aged 60 to 98, suffering from various diseases, including cancer, diabetes and heart disease, surprisingly feel happy.
At the same time, about 41% of respondents aged 85 and older admit to having memory problems, and 30% of them are in a state of depression and sadness. Despite this, only 1% of these people noted that their life in old age turned out to be worse than they expected when they were young. So old age is not so bad as young people draw it.
Full text of the report Growing Old in America: Expectations vs. Reality (152 p., pdf, 0.8 Mb)
and once in 10 an abbreviated summary of its contents with basic tables and graphs
posted on the Pew Research Center website.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru/30.06.2009