Based on the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau, the estimated population of the U.S. was approximately 331.4 million in 2021. More than three-quarters (77.9%) or about 258.3 million were adult populations. Baby boomer generation, those born between 1946 and 1964, was about 54.1 million in 2019. They are reaching the age range between 57 to 75 in 2021 in a fast speed. It is one of the major driving force of the growth in the adult population. They soon represented 21% of the adult population, more than one in every five adult Americans.
Comparing with the senior populations in 1960s-1980s, some positive and challenging traits of the seniors in 2020s are listed below.
Positive Traits of Seniors
Higher Education
About 30 percent of the seniors had completed a bachelor’s degree or more. It was only 5 percent in 1965.
Longer Life Expectancy
The average life expectancy for male is 76.1 years and 81.1 years for female. There is a 5-year gender gap. It was 68 years in 1950 and there was a 7-year gender gap.
Better Finance
About 9 percent of the seniors fell under the poverty level. It was 30 percent in 1970.
Challenging Traits of Seniors
Higher Obesity Rates
About 41 percent of the seniors were obese in 2015. Obesity is a risk factor for many chronic conditions.
Higher Divorce Rates
About 14 percent of the female in 2018. It was 3 percent in 1980.
About 11 percent of the male in 2018. It was 4 percent in 1980.
Living Alone and Lack of Social/Community Support
About 26 percent of the female (1 in 4 women) ages 65 to 74 lived alone in 2018.
About 39 percent of the female (2 in 5 women) ages 75 to 84 lived alone in 2018.
About 55 percent of the female (1 in 2 women) ages 85 and older lived alone in 2018.
Culturally Diverse Subgroups and Economic Disparities
About 17 percent of Latinos lived in poverty in 2017.
About 19 percent of African Americans lived in poverty in 2017.
About 7 percent of non-Hispanic whites lived in poverty in 2017.
Pictures of Aging and Senior Care
The pictures of aging tend to associate with walker, wheel chair, listless elders in nursing home facilities surrounded by medical staff of various specialties. It conjures up lonely, depressing, negative, and powerless emotions. The topic of aging elicits unspoken fear and anticipated anxiety within seniors and their loved ones.
The following are the most common mental health issues among seniors; they are, isolation, affective and anxiety disorders, dementia, and psychosis.
Geographic distance with family members, suburban housing designs, living alone, emphasis in privacy and independence and financial factors tend to facilitate isolation.
Certain medicines or medicine interactions play a role of depression symptoms in senior populations.
Physical conditions like hypertension, diabetes, dementia, chronic pain, stroke, and cancer are common physical concerns and these diagnoses increase the risk of depression.
Aging is an important part of a series of life stages, just like childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and mid-life. However, aging seems to be simplified into a financial formula in choosing a nursing facility with one bed, three meals, medicine management based on a physical-health-centered medical model. The fast growth of baby boomer population will fuel an enormous boom and they probably will revolutionize the current aging care industry. A booming industry attracts innovated thinking and designs, investors, creates job opportunities, and profitability. Baby boomer generation shall pioneer a vibrant lifestyle and innovate a positive and exciting way of aging care for themselves.
Vigor and Vitality
Growing aging population has become the global phenomenon. A journalist of National Geographic magazine, Dan Buettner, reported that people in the Greek island, Ikaria, seem to have remarkably long life-spans. They have found the secret of fountain of youth and longevity. On average, they live about 8 to 10 years longer than Americans. They are 2.5 times as likely to survive to 90 years and longer. Amazingly, Ikaria residents are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s, depression, dementia that are very common among American counterparts.
Longevity of Ikaria people result from their natural and social environment, which evolves into an astonishing lifestyles that beguile the whole world, especially those highly industrialized countries. Below is the list of contributing factors of their longevity and high quality of life.
Physical Health Contributing Factors
Walking to work, shop and visit friends is a crucial way of daily life.
Life-long Work: As owners of vineyards, olive farms, vegetable farms, their work, finance, diet are inseparable.
Mediterranean Diet: Olive oil, goat’s milk, tomatoes, wild greens, wine, herbal tea and Greek coffee are main staples of their food consumption.
Ikaria residents consumed about six times as many beans a day as Americans.
Low Cardiovascular Diseases: High plant-based protein consumption and low meat consumption.
Low Stress Daily Work-and-Life Schedules: Ikaria residents do not wear watches. Nap-taking is important.
Minimal Use of Medicine: Healthy diet and lifestyle keep medicines away.
Mental Health Contributing Factors
Active Way of Life, Stay Busy and Involved: A sense of purpose. No isolation.
Caring Community as a Big Family: Strong social ties, social connections and networks, frequent interpersonal interactions such as small nudges and festivities involving whole communities.
Life-Long Work, Life-Long Learning, Life-Long Social Engagement: Mentally active and less cognitive declination among seniors.
Positive Outlook in Aging and End of Life: When Ikaria residents were asked “are you afraid of death?” Their response was “we would not die.” Aging and death do not play a dominating role in their daily living because they were busy experiencing and enjoying living. Their daily living integrates breathing, walking, eating, working, drinking, partying, laughing, socializing every minute so that they do not need clocks to compartmentalize or segregate work, personal life, exercising, socialization, family life, and more components into fragments.
Developmental Stages of Human Life Span
A well-known psychologist in the 1950s, Erik Erikson (1902-1994), defined human life span into the below eight developmental stages. Each developmental stage is triggered by a crisis which signals the start of a psychological search. The journey of the search may lead to a successful outcome of crisis resolution or a negative outcome of failed search. The last developmental stage begins at approximately age 65 and ends at death.
- Stage 1: Trust vs. Mistrust.
- Stage 2: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt.
- Stage 3: Initiative vs. Guilt.
- Stage 4: Industry vs. Inferiority.
- Stage 5: Identity vs. Confusion.
- Stage 6: Intimacy vs. Isolation.
- Stage 7: Generativity vs. Stagnation.
- Stage 8: Integrity vs. Despair.
Integrity vs. Despair
Based on the above statistics, the senior populations from the Baby boomer generation tend to have the following characteristics.
- High education
- High intelligence
- High income
- High ratio of living alone or independent living
- Longer Life Span
It is reasonable to assume and to predict that the senior populations may have higher expectation in quality of life which involves integration of daily diet, nutrition, exercise, physical health, activities, mental health, etc. The first 25-30 years of their life span was to lay a foundation in growth and development as a youth.
The second 25-30 years of their life span was to lay a foundation in intimacy and career as an adult.
The third 25-30 years of their life span shall be the most fruitful prime time to capitalize their life experience, career and financial wisdom, and cognitive brilliance as a mature adult.
In order to thrive in career development during the 2nd prime 25-30 years, the work-related training of the adulthood emphasizes specific career specializations in any industry to enhance efficiency and productivity.
On the other hand, with limited daily time and resources after work, the stress of forming interpersonal intimacy and having a family requires time management and delegation to other specialized professionals.
The applied life skills that any individual acquired in the 2nd prime 25-30 years may not work well in the 3rd prime 25-30 years. As long as the senior individuals maintain their health, mobility and cognition well, they can plan and navigate their next 25-30 years into happiness and successful fulfillment. They need to switch from wearing a company/organization specialist’s hat to a hat of being their Self-Care CEO and start learning a wide range of basic diverse applied life skills. The following list is just to name a few.
- Self-Care 101
- Common Diseases of Seniors 101
- Nutrition 101
- Physical Activity 101
- Mental Health 101
- Wealth Management 101
- Investment 101
- Social Skill 101
- Simple Cooking 101
- Career Development for Seniors 101
- Talent Development 101
- Having Fun 101
Conclusion
Fast growing senior populations can be considered as an alarming data to forecast the enormous burden of aging care facilities, Social Security, and Medicare expenditures, as some people described it as “Silver Tsunami” with an undertone of despair and frightening calamity.
Or the seniors can plan ahead, capitalize their strength, adopt diverse roles, and start living a new integrated life for themselves after the “retirement” or severance from the corporate world.
In the crossroads of the last life stage, it is up to the individual to walk on the Path to Despair passively or pro-actively create the Path to Integrity and Fulfillment for additional 25-30 years.
Bio:
Dr. Trudy is a psychologist in California and Oregon working with Asian American communities. Her website: www.DrTrudy.com.