“We define elderly by whatever age we haven’t reached yet,” Anna Quindlen.
My husband’s grandmother is 87 years old. She is the matriarch of our family and a red-head with the fiery personality to match. Some people may think 87 is elderly. I dare you to say that to Granny. I’ll bet she’d have a thing or two to say about that.
When I was younger I thought that 65 was a fair age to begin calling someone “elderly.” I mean, that is when people begin getting a senior discount, right? If you’re retired, you must be elderly… or maybe just lucky!
As I move into my “late” 30s, 65 doesn’t seem that old at all. I know a lot of people 65 or older who are more active and social than I am. I would never think to call them elderly.
This is the problem with editorial words. They lack measurement. How elderly is defined depends on who you ask.
We don’t use editorial words in our news writing for this reason.
The Associated Press Stylebook entry on “elderly” reads:
Use this word carefully and sparingly.”
The Stylebook goes on to encourage writers to use elderly only in generic phrases that do not refer to specific individuals. For example, “a home for the elderly” or “concern for the elderly.”
The Stylebook also discourages the use of “senior citizen,” essentially for the same reasons.
I also discourage the use of “young” in news stories because of its editorial nature. I’ll bet there are some 90-year-olds out there who feel pretty young. I wouldn’t want to be the one to tell them otherwise, would you?
amandapalumbo says
profkrg Jayhawk96 Very good point. I didn’t consider my Pops elderly even right before he passed away. He was more spry than me.
Jayhawk96 says
amandapalumbo profkrg I once pointed out to a producer who called a 62-year-old “elderly” that our GM at the time was older… #whoa
amandapalumbo says
Jayhawk96 profkrg Oh yea. I’ll probably still be working at 62. I’m a big fan of “senior” instead of “elderly”
profkrg says
amandapalumbo Jayhawk96 Awe. It’s wonderful to have a good, active life. Thanks for reading!
profkrg says
Jayhawk96 amandapalumbo Oops!
profkrg says
amandapalumbo Jayhawk96 My Dad has no interest in retiring. He’d be bored. I can understand that.