Growing Old Is Difficult: Time Is Against Us
Growing old is easy, I wrote earlier. Then I broke my leg. No. It is difficult.
Posted January 27, 2025 | Reviewed by Michelle Quirk
Being old is in the news. The oldest person in the world, Tomiko Itooka, died in January 2025 aged 116. She was born before the Titanic and World War 1. Jimmy Carter just died at age 100. Captain Sir Tom Moore raised $42 million for the National Health Service and was knighted by the Queen for his service to the country but he died soon afterward at the age of 100. Now Donald Trump , 78, has been elected president, the oldest man ever elected to that office, with some concern about his age since Joe Biden was also 78 when elected and seemed to show signs of cognitive decline toward the end of his term.
Aging is a social process as well as a biological one. We have to figure out ways to cope with the greying of society and of ourselves. But when does old age start? Perhaps at 50 with the empty nest syndrome, glasses, baldness, menopause , or a mid-life crisis like divorce ; or perhaps at retirement , usually 65, when the pension cheques might start, if one can retire.
The good news is that more people are living longer and in better health. Life expectancy has increased from about 22 in the Roman empire to 36 in Massachusetts in 1776 to 73.3 years globally, ranging from highs in Japan of 85.2 years to the lowest in the Central African Republic of 54.7: a 30.5-year gap. Research suggests that healthy lifestyles can lead us to the 80s and even 90s, and, most importantly, living in a wealthy country with excellent health care. After 100, it is a matter of genetics (Smith, 2025). But as the old joke goes: “Exercise daily. Eat wisely. Then die.” But you will probably have a higher quality and longer quantity of life if that is what you want.
The United States is the wealthiest nation in the G7 but has the lowest life expectancy of 79.3 for many well-known reasons, and with wide variations between rich and poor, men and women, Black and white, and region, all of which interlock. Andrew J. Scott, author of The Longevity Imperative, notes that “Debate about an aging society rarely goes beyond mention of spiraling health costs, a pensions crisis, dementia and care homes.” This may be agism since many are working, volunteering, mentoring, grandparenting, productive, and creative and tax-paying, too (Rauch, 2025).
The old slogans of negativity are still out there: “Don’t trust anyone over 30!”; It’s better to burn out than to fade away” (Neil Young); “It’s better to wear out than rust out” (after George Whitefield, 1714-1770, who said: “I had rather wear out than rust out.”). Roger Daltrey of the Who sang at 21: “Hope I die before I get old.” He is now 80. Shakespeare described age as “evil,” and continues:
And so, from hour to hour, we ripe and ripe,
And then, from hour to hour, we rot and rot.
And thereby hangs a tale.”
( As You Like It. 2:7)
A bit over the top maybe.
Ageism is a problem, like racism and sexism, and it affects all ages, not only the old: young men, especially the NEETS (not in employment, education , or training), and perhaps in gangs and disproportionately violent; the middle-aged considered too old to hire; and the old, regarded as a drain on the economy and a cost rather than a benefit (Bytheway, 1997).
I have not experienced much agism, but I have experienced respect. Riding the Underground (subway) in London years ago, all the seats were taken, so I was standing, swaying with the rhythm of the train with the natural grace of a born athlete. A young woman, Japanese I thought, got up and offered me her seat. I was stunned. This was against the rules. Men are supposed to offer their seats to women. But this was the respect that we have heard the Japanese accord their elders. Plus, the exact same scene was repeated on a second occasion. Then, it just occurred to me. My imagination of my graceful athleticism may have looked like an old geezer, unbalanced, hanging on to a strap like grim death. No, surely not.
But those were the moments when I realised I was old, at least in the minds of others.
The bad news is that the number of dementia cases in the United States will double from about 500,000 a year to about one million annually by 2060 due to the aging population. Researchers reported that adults over 55 have a 42 percent lifetime risk of developing dementia, higher than previously thought. Currently, more than six million Americans have dementia, nearly 10 percent of people aged 65 and older, and it causes more than 100,000 deaths and costs more than $600 billion in caregiving and other costs. Researchers did find a genetic link, as with breast cancer, but also several risk factors that can be addressed: diabetes, high blood pressure, and hearing loss (Belluck, 2025). Tragically, much of the research on dementia is fraudulent and dangerous (Piller, 2025).
My earlier post on this topic was titled “ Growing Old Is Easy: Time Does All the Work .” I thought it was trueish and amusing. After listing some of the physical adversities that flesh is heir to, and that many of my top 20 group will have experienced (leaving aside the few who make it past 100), I rashly thought that things could not get much worse.
Then I fell over and broke my leg, had (another) steel pin inserted, spent 19 days in the hospital, and had to learn to walk again, first with my walker, then my staff, and now unaided, at least inside. I am now entitled to a "handicapped" sticker for my car. Isn’t that great? Hence my revised opinion: Growing old is difficult.
Belluck, Pam 2025. “Dementia cases will surge …” New York Times 13 January.
Bytheway, Bill 1997. Ageism. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Piler, Charles 2025. “The devastating legacy of lies …” New York Times 24 January.
Rauch, Jonathan 2025. “America needs to radically rethink …” The Atlantic January.
Smith, Dana G. 2025. “What matters more for longevity: genes or lifestyle?” New York Times 8 January.
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Anthony Synnott, Ph.D. , is a professor of sociology at Concordia University in Montreal.
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.