Originally Posted by DnvrFox
Well, if 50 yesterday is 70 today, then it follows that 30 yesterday is 50 today. And 50 or 70 is so much better than stating old or elderly!
Folks around here know I do not appreciate terms like "elderly" and "old."
The reason is that "elderly" and "old" are terms that carry a whole lot of baggage, most of it negative, and really have absolutely no meaning in regards to any one person's functioning or age. "Elderly" or "old" to someone 20 is quite different than "elderly" or "old" to someone 60.
If we have to have an age-related reference, I much prefer simply stating an age. What is wrong with that? Although still not clarifying the physical and/or mental condition of the person, it is at least accurate.
So, instead of "an elderly driver was going down the street" how about "a person about 75 was driving down the street." Now we all at least know what age we are talking about.
Again, the upshot of the article is that people of 70 today are engaging in activities that previous generations would not do beyond their 50s because of a change in the way we think about stuff (absolutely the most important factor) or that were deemed to be stuff for "younger" people - not suitable for "older" people or a variety of other reasons.
How someone gets hung up on labels like old or so on is a personal thing. A lot of the younger somethings I know think it is cool/rad/phat/what have you that someone my age likes the same music they do and knows a thing or two about it.
I guess the age paradox can be clearly seen in US attitude/perspective about a situation like Anna Nichol Smith being with someone 50+ years older than she and the European "so what?" perspective. It was not primarily about someone marrying about money, it was - at the core - about age disparity. The US has a p[roblem with it, other cultures not so much.
You are as old as you think you are, you are as young as you think you are. It is the attitude that counts most. We all know someone who was "old" when they were 20 because of their attitude and beliefs and we all know someone 70 years young.