What Do We Call "Old" People? Changes in Age-Related Labels Across the 20th Century

Author(s): Elizabeth J. Meinz, Fabia D'Amore-Krug, Bethany L. Gauen, Chelsea L. Hart, Geraldine R. Weir, Joann E. Lanari, Shannon L. Hurlbut

DOI: https://doi.org/10.65030/idr.04023

Abstract: As we embrace the 21st century, our society has become more conscious of the language used to identify a person's gender, age, disability status and ethnic/racial background. It appears the language used to label people as ‘old’ has evolved as well, although the reasons for, and ramifications of, this evolution are unclear. To investigate changes in age labels across the 20th century, we conducted an archival analysis of articles from scholarly journals and popular press over the past 100 years. We noted a shift in the terminology used, primarily such that older adult appears to be the most commonly used label today. Reasons for, and implications of, this shift are discussed.

Keywords: Age stereotypes; Age labels; Language use; Older adults; Archival research; Social perception; Historical trends

Pages: 244-252

Download Full Article: Click here