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From politics to the pandemic, older Americans are at the forefront of some of our most pressing issues, labeled by the media in ways that range from traditional (“senior citizens”) to respectful (“mature adults”) to snide (“OK, boomer!”).
The research team at The Senior List felt it was important to determine how the group itself would like to be described and surveyed more than 600 people aged 55 and older to find out (theseniorlist.com/data/senior-label-study).
They learned that, while individual preferences varied, older adults primarily want to be recognized as integral parts of society rather than as burdening outsiders.
Overall, the conclusions are nuanced, but several points are apparent:
“Senior” terms are on their way out. Traditional labels like “senior” or “senior citizen” were only preferred by a small percentage of older adults: 17% and 10%, respectively. Younger respondents were less tolerant of both terms, foreshadowing a continued decline in popularity.
Inclusive terms are most appreciated. Terms that slightly altered words like “adult” were most embraced by the group. 79% were positive about being called “older adults” or “mature adults.”
On the flip side, terms that might make older adults feel alienated, like “the elderly” or “golden agers,” proved least popular.
Emphasis on lifestyle was preferred over longevity. The only term that focused on status rather than age (“retiree”) performed surprisingly well. Though half of respondents were under 65, only 17% disliked the term “retiree,” suggesting that older Americans may prefer stage-of-life labels over references to lifespan.
Preferred Titles among Older Adults
In the search for a favorite descriptor, we asked older Americans which of eight widely used labels they most preferred, and results varied dramatically.
No term garnered more than one-fifth of the votes, with “mature adults” and “older adults” narrowly ahead of “seniors” and “retirees,” followed by “senior citizens.” “Other” and “none” combined for significant numbers, outpacing declining terms like “elders,” “the elderly,” and “golden agers.”
The lack of a standout isn’t particularly surprising, as that choice can be deeply personal; some seniors embrace growing older, others resist mortality. And the very definition of “old” is a matter of perspective.
Since aging is inevitable, perhaps some people feel boxed in or trapped by a label of any kind.
Inclusive vs. Traditional Labels
When asked for specific feelings about each term, trends became clear as approval rose above 60% for several labels.
The most popular names remained the newer, simpler labels that emphasized personhood (“mature adults,” “older adults”) over well-worn titles associated with government assistance (“seniors,” “senior citizens”) or terms that cast members as “outsiders” (“elders,” “golden agers,” “the elderly”).
These results show that Americans prefer inclusive labels that place seniors within adult society rather than as a separate class.
Coined during the New Deal to identify benefit recipients aged 65 and older (when life expectancy was that same age), “senior” terms still carry the stigma of charity and feel out-of-touch in a world where we live nearly 80 years and most Americans consider 65 “middle age.”
Preferred Title by Age
Older adults are not a monolith; those in their 50s don’t necessarily favor the same language as those in their 80s, which becomes apparent when dissecting the data along age lines.
Of respondents in their 50s, 63% chose inclusive references as their favorite and had little love for traditional “senior” labels (9%). Opinions over age 80 were inverted; “senior” titles (63%) bested the inclusive options (21%).
According to databases like Corpus of Contemporary American English and Google’s Ngram Viewer, which analyze word counts across published sources, the use of “senior citizen” has steadily declined since 1980, while “older adult” has consistently climbed in recent decades.
Meanwhile, support for the lifestyle term “retiree” followed a classic bell curve, peaking around traditional retirement age.
Older Americans now live longer, work longer, and have expanded employment opportunities thanks to remote technology. Tech moguls retire at 35, while grandparents reenter the workforce, blurring lines so much that AARP dropped “retired” from its acronym.
Heightened social awareness has ingrained the importance of seeing individuals as more than their gender/race/sexuality, and these results suggest it’s time to take the same approach to seniority.
The poll provided no clear-cut choice for favorite title but clearly showed how older Americans wish to be perceived: as people who happened to have lived a long time, not as a separate segment of society.