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Age

When and how to mention age

Background:

Aging, including physical, mental, and social changes, is a normal process and not equivalent with disease or ill health. Age bias can create misleading and negative perceptions of people at any age. Discrimination or prejudice based on age is called ageism, and ageism can appear in language.

Terms like and 鈥渟enior citizens鈥� carry a stigma, are ambiguous, and can be confused with other meanings, such as the level in school. They can also be inaccurate鈥攆or example, if the people discussed are not citizens. Beginning with the comparative 鈥渙lder,鈥� such as 鈥渙lder people,鈥� is more neutral.

Recommendation:

Refer to age only when relevant. If mentioning age is necessary, use specific numbers instead of vague terms or terms that isolate a group as 鈥渙ther.鈥� Whenever possible, ask the people you鈥檙e talking about for their preferred terminology for their age group, if a broad label is needed. If preference is not known and you need to refer to older people in general, use 鈥渙lder鈥� as an adjective, as in 鈥渙lder adults,鈥� instead of using 鈥渟enior citizens,鈥� 鈥渟eniors,鈥� or 听

Examples:

Use:

adults aged 55 to 60 years

Avoid:

the middle-aged

Use:

octogenarians, centenarians

Avoid:

the elderly, aging dependents

Use:

Senior Chemists Committee (formal name)

Ageist language and stereotypes

Background:

Both older and younger people share a wide range of interests that involve activity, independence, socializing, and education. Language can perpetuate stereotypes about age by associating 鈥渙ld鈥� and related words with negative things, and 鈥測oung鈥� and related words with positive attributes. Even seemingly positive phrases or metaphors that use age-related terminology can carry the same negative or fatalistic attitudes toward aging.听

Recommendation:

Avoid associating certain behaviors or attitudes with age, and choose language that will reflect the diverse identities, experiences, and interests that exist at all ages. When referring to different age groups, avoid informal, vague, disparaging, or infantilizing terms, including or implies that all older adults are experiencing perceptual or cognitive decline. Avoid seemingly positive phrases that are still (e.g., 鈥測oung at heart鈥�).

Examples:

Use:

Dr. Gupta, age 50

Avoid:

50 years young

Use:

She forgot what she was going to say.

Avoid:

had a senior moment

Generational terms

Background:

Informal generational terms like 鈥渂aby boomers鈥� and 鈥渕illennials鈥� can have negative connotations and stereotypes, and people do not always agree on their meaning. They also lump many diverse people under one label, which can obscure differences within the group. that for many variables studied. For example, as a workforce management tool because age is just one factor affecting workers鈥� needs and because intragenerational differences can be large, according to a 2020 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report.

Recommendation:

Avoid informal generational terms unless referring to specific research related to the topic of generations. Instead, use decade-specific terms that describe the age group, and provide context to make the meaning clear. If someone wants to be described by a generational term, use that (see 鈥淎sk people how they want to be described, and respect that language鈥�).

Examples:

Use:

people born between 1946 and 1964

Avoid:

baby boomers

Use:

teenagers

Avoid:

Gen Z

Dementia

Background:

The term 鈥渟enile鈥� is an outdated, imprecise, and often inaccurate term, and it relates to age rather than disease.

Recommendation:

Instead of 鈥渟enile,鈥� use 鈥減erson with dementia鈥� or 鈥減eople who have dementia,鈥� if that is accurate, and specify the type of dementia when known.

Example:

Use:

a person with dementia caused by Alzheimer鈥檚 disease

Avoid:

senile

Benefits associated with age

Background:

In the US, Social Security and Medicare benefits can begin at different ages. Although being age 65 or older is one criterion for Medicare eligibility, people can also qualify for coverage if they have certain disabilities or medical conditions. Social Security is an umbrella term for several federal benefits programs and may refer to people across a wide range of ages.

Recommendation:

Do not use 鈥淪ocial Security recipients鈥� or 鈥淢edicare recipients鈥� as a catch-all for older people in the US, especially when intending to refer to only older people receiving the benefit.

Examples:

Use:

people who are receiving Social Security and are over the age of 62

Avoid:

Social Security recipients

Use:

people who are receiving Medicare benefits because of a disability

Avoid:

Medicare recipients

Resources on inclusive language for age

  • American Psychological Association. 鈥�.鈥� APA Style. Last modified July 2021.
  • Centre for Ageing Better. . Centre for Ageing Better, 2021.
  • Changing the Narrative. . 2022.
  • Dahmen, Nicole S., and Raluca Cozma, eds. . New York: International Longevity Center鈥揢SA and Aging Services of California, 2009.
  • Gendron, Tracey L., E. Ayn Welleford, Jennifer Inker, and John T. White. Gerontologist 56, no. 6 (Dec. 2016): 997鈥�1006. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnv066.
  • Lindland, Eric, Marissa Fond, Abigail Haydon, and Nathaniel Kendall-Taylor. . Washington, DC: FrameWorks Institute, 2015.听
  • Lundebjerg, Nancy E., Daniel E. Trucil, Emily C. Hammond, and William B. Applegate. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 65, no. 7 (July 2017): 1386鈥�88. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.14941.
  • Pinsker, Joe. Atlantic, Jan. 27, 2020.
  • Senz, Kristen. The Journalist鈥檚 Resource, Nov. 15, 2022.
  • Sweetland, Julie, Andrew Volmert, and Moira O鈥橬eil. . Washington, DC: FrameWorks Institute, 2017.