Do you prefer to be called Senior or Retiree?

As we age, our social description of our demographic seems to shift.  We go from teen, to young adult to middle age and then we hit the arena of the retirement years term.   We need terms that mature people can embrace. 

It’s similar to when people first become Grandparents.  Many seems to struggle with the term Grandma or Grandpa and prefer to be called something else that sounds more youthful.  Same applies to retirement years terms. 

The range of terms is vast and  not all of them are very appealing to the older generation. 

Most widely used are “senior citizens,” “retirees,” “the elderly” and “elders.”   

Many seem to prefer the comfortably familiar term “boomers.” 

All of these terms are familiar with our aging population, and if used politely, can be embraced.  But sometimes the terms can be used out of context or in not such a positive light.  

The fact is that we are all aging, and will all find ourselves sooner or later in the aging demographic.  The interesting part is will the younger generations now, GenX’s, Millennial’s want to embrace the new terms/titles or will those become their terms?  

In 40 years will the term Millennial replace Senior?  

Hard to believe, but a century ago, 40 was considered old.  Today’s more mature generations are healthier, more cognitively fit and better educated than any previous generation.  

So whatever the demographic term that you choose to embrace is, use it proudly and age gracefully.