“I’m afraid of getting older, afraid of some of the things that I can’t control and worried about the future.” (55-64 years) “It’s terrible.” (18-25 years) “It’s to be avoided.” (65+ years) Younger respondents (under 30 years) are generally more negative about the concept of ageing. These participants are less able to articulate specific concerns and more likely to simply be concerned about the broader issues associated with health, welfare, financial stability and housing access. Their views are more likely to be linked to the concept of loss associated with ageing (loss of health, loss of hearing, loss of mental capacity, loss of income). Members of this group find it extremely difficult to identify any benefits associated with ageing and many indicated it is simply not something they have given much thought to at this point in their lives. All respondents were asked to indicate how old someone of ‘old age’ was and to indicate how old an ‘elderly’ Australian was. There is little difference in the perception of old age between community and business respondents, reporting a mean age of 61.7 and 62.5 respectively. Perceptions of the age of an ‘elderly’ Australian are also similar, reporting a mean of 70.5 at a national community level and a mean of 72 years in the business sample. There are differences in perception between younger and older participants. Within the community sample, the mean age of ‘old age’ for respondents aged 18-24 years is 55.9 years, compared to 66.9 years for respondents aged 65+ years – a difference in perception of more than 10 years. The differences between age cohorts are similar when the concept of being ‘elderly’ is discussed. Younger respondents (those aged 18-24 years) indicate that an ‘elderly’ Australian is someone aged 66.7 years while those aged 65+ years indicate that an ‘elderly’ Australian is 74.4 years. In addition to age, other factors impact on a respondent’s opinions: The average age of ‘old age’ is higher for females (62 years) when compared to males (61 years). Personal experience also has a major impact. Respondents who have a relationship with an older person have a higher average age for ‘old age’ when compared to respondents who have no relationship with an older person (60.7 compared to 56.6 years).
Table 5: Behavioural interactions – net agreement Older people... Total 18 – 24 A 25 – 34 B 35 – 44 C 45 – 54 D (Social) Lonely or isolated 59% 50% 58% 59% A 65% AB (Victimisation) Victims of crime 52% 46% 49% 56% A 55% A (Cognitive) Forgetful 51% 50% 52% 47% 55% C (Social) Don’t like being told what to do by someone younger 43% 43% 47% C 40% 42% (Social) Don’t like change 41% 46% 49% 54% 49% (Health) Likely to be sick 36% 51% BCD 39% CD 31% 26% (Productivity) Don’t want to work long hours 32% 37% 30% 31% 30% (Cognitive) Are bad drivers 27% 26% 31% D 32% D 20% (Cognitive) Have difficulty learning complex tasks 26% 33% CD 29% 25% 23% (Cognitive) Have difficultly learning new things 26% 30% D 31% D 27% 22% (Financial) Are a significant cost to the Australian health system 24% 18% 27% A 26% A 23% (Temperament) Don’t understand the pressures that younger people face 24% 26% 26% D 23% 20% (Cognitive) Prefer not to use technology 23% 34% 29% 27% 29% (Social) Complain a lot 22% 21% 24% 22% 20% (Social) Don’t have sexual relationships 18% 24% CD 21% CD 15% 15% (Social) Are grumpy or short-tempered 17% 15% 20% 16% 17% (Productivity) Are less likely to contribute at work 12% 15% 13% 11% 10% (Social) Don’t care about their appearance 8% 17% CD 12% CD 5% 5%
Older respondents are more likely to engage in more traditional media, including: free-to-air television newspapers. Table 8: Media consumption by audience Older people… Total 18 – 24 A 25 – 34 B 35 – 44 C 45 – 54 D 55 – 64 E 65+ F Business Watch free-to-air TV 92% 83% 90% A 92% A 97% ABC 95% AB 97% ABC 90% Listen to the radio 74% 62% 74% A 79% AF 79% ABF 73% A 70% 80% Read (either paper or online) 67% 49% 61% A 67% A 72% AB 77% ABC 77% ABC 78% Use social media including Twitter or Facebook 66% 91% BCDEF 81% CDEF 70% DEF 57% F 53% F 39% 59% Watch movies, including renting, or going to the cinema 56% 78% BCDEF 66% CDEF 54% EF 54% EF 42% 36% 51% Read 36% 41% 35% 32% 34% 42% CD 36% 37% Watch Pay TV 30% 26% 27% 33% 35% AB 27% 31% 40% Watch TV online 26% 43% CDEF 35% CDEF 27% DEF 20% F 16% 10% 29% Question: During a typical week, do you… Base: All respondents (Community, n=2,020), (18 – 34, n=175), (25 – 34, n=436), (35 – 44, n=452), (45 – 54, n=448), (55 – 64, n=234), (65+, n=275), (Business n=504). A/B/C/D/E/F: Significantly higher at the 95% confidence level.
Findings from the media scan confirm that a considerable volume of media content focuses on stories which portray older people as victims – ‘unknown’ older people were most often mentioned in the analysed news and current affairs coverage as the victims of crime. 52% of those aged 18-54 years agree that older people are more likely to be victims and there is evidence that this negative attitude is driven to a considerable degree by the media. Lonely and isolated: The perception that older people are lonely and isolated also appears to be heavily influenced by media (both print and visual), although personal experience also has a role to play. Six in ten (63%) of respondents feel that stories they see in the media have an influence on their perception that older people are lonely and isolated and a similar proportion (60%) feel that stories they read in the media have an influence. However, two-thirds (65%) also feel that their personal experience has contributed to their belief that older people are lonely or isolated. This is in contrast to the findings from the media scan. In both mainstream news media and advertising, older people are rarely presented as isolated, alone or lonely. In news media, they are almost as likely to be pictured in a social or public setting as in a domestic or private setting. However, findings from the qualitative phase show a strong link between the concepts of physical frailty, victimisation and the concept that older people are isolated and lonely. In many ways, one results in the other from a participant view – if an older person is afraid of being victimised or if they are too frail to leave the house, then their ability to socially engage is directly affected. More likely to be sick: Personal experience and the media have a strong influence on the perception that older people are more likely to be sick. More than half (58%) of respondents feel that stories they read in the media have an influence on this perception and a similar proportion (61%) feel that stories they see in the media have an influence. Personal experience is most likely to influence this perception, with 68% stating that this is influential in attitude formation.