How Americans are Redefining Aging

The process of aging in the United States is changing, and so are the expectations and attitudes that come with it. Americans are living longer than ever before, are marrying and having children at older ages, birth rates are declining and retirement age is rising. As a result, the U.S. society is beginning to redefine what it means to grow old.  

As the average age of Americans continues to rise, researchers across disciplines can see the changes this has on different aspects of society. Researchers from across Texas A&M University explore the changing patterns of aging from a psychological, anthropological, economic and cultural viewpoint. 

Dr. Rongxiang (Catherine) Tang, assistant professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, studies how individuals can improve their health and well-being across their lifespan, as well as risk factors and early biomarkers of aging-related diseases. In recent years, attitudes towards aging have become more positive and proactive — public policy and research increasingly promote prevention strategies and healthier lifestyles, helping adults maintain their independence and health longer. People are becoming more active in pursuing prevention strategies to impede aging-related diseases. 

Greater awareness and attention to aging-related diseases such as dementia have encouraged early intervention by individuals. Instead of waiting for a major physical or cognitive decline, people are responding more quickly to subtle changes and seeking medical help sooner. That attention can significantly improve long-term health trajectories.  

“Socially, the negative stigmas and attitudes about aging are being greatly reduced and transformed,” Tang said. “People are focusing on building better infrastructure for elderly care and reframing the aging process to reduce biases and advocating for better policies.” 

At the same time, technological advances are reshaping digital communication and medical treatment, which in turn changes how people experience life. 

“The use of technology will undoubtedly have a significant impact on how we age and how we interact with others as we get older,” Tang said. “It will be fascinating to watch how technological advances can shape elderly care, the way we interact with older adults, the effects it will have on promoting healthier aging and informing our scientific inquiry on aging-related processes.”  

Dr. Adam Rosenthal, associate professor in the Department of Global Languages and Culture, explores themes of how religion, wellness culture and contemporary radical life-extension movements shape ideas about anti-aging in his new book, Prosthetic Immortalities. His work explores how people attempt to extend their lifespan while ensuring vitality through extreme efforts.  

Today’s anti-aging efforts range from supplements and cosmetic procedures to experimental technologies and biohacking. Researchers are also exploring ways to alter the biological composition of humans, as well as investigating nonbiological body part replacements and self-cloning as ways to extend life. Companies such as Calico are investing in longevity research, looking for different ways of slowing the aging process.  

“Throughout history, we have always assumed that all humans must die, that death is inevitable,” Rosenthal said. “With current technology and medicine, we are beginning to imagine a world that may allow us to live longer or indefinitely. That doesn’t necessarily imply immortality, but our lives wouldn’t be as limited as they were.” In the U.S. visible signs of aging are increasingly treated as a correctable problem. Cosmetic procedures, digital filters and wellness regiments suggest that many people are not only wanting to live longer, but to preserve youthfulness.  

“Aging can be feared as it is not only the process of growing closer to death, but is the loss of youth itself,” Rosenthal said. “It gets harder to move and to do things that you once could. People don’t want to lose that ability, so they make their bodies conform to their ideas of maintaining youth and health.” 

Dr. Jeffrey Winking, professor of anthropology and director of graduate studies, has studied aging in non-industrial populations, including working with the Tsimane Health and Life History Project, which focuses on health, growth and development, aging, economics and people living a subsistence mode of life. These non-industrial populations more closely resemble how humans lived throughout the majority of history, offering insight into how aging once looked.

In many of these non-industrial societies, older adults are central to family and community life. Elders live with their families and often provide childcare, perform domestic tasks and serve as advisers and mentors well into old age. Although many older adults still fit these roles today, the expectation is not as great. The idea of elders living alone and reliant on social services would have been unheard of in pre-modern times.   

The average family structure of Americans is also changing and influencing the ways we age. “Older adults, once viewed as being the most knowledgeable and able to offer wisdom on any problem, are now frequently left feeling disconnected from modern culture by the rapid technological and cultural changes,” Winking said. “For most of human history, culture changed at a much slower pace than it does now.” Over time, starting in Western countries, birth rates started to decline. In some countries, these rates have reached historic lows.  

“Until about 200 years ago, fertility in all societies was largely limited by resources and health,” Winking said. “A woman could expect to have five to nine children in her lifetime.” 

In the United States, women are having children later in life. For the first time, more women over the age of 40 are giving birth than teenagers. Later childbirth and smaller family sizes contribute to slower population growth, reinforcing the shift towards an older population. 

These shifts extend into the economy. Dr. Dennis Jansen, professor of economics and director of the Private Enterprise Research Center, studies financial and pension economics. He recognizes that as the population ages, we can expect our economic institutions to adapt and change with it.   

One major concern is the United States' Social Security System. The system operates by taxing workers and distributing those funds as benefits to retirees. Social Security functions most effectively when the workforce substantially outnumbers beneficiaries.  

“There was a period of time when the number of workers significantly outweighed retirees, allowing the system to create a fund that saved money for the future,” Jansen said. “With the current rate of baby boomers retiring compared to the number of people entering the workforce, that Social Security fund is expected to run out of money around 2033.”  

As fewer workers support each retiree, a ratio projected to approach roughly 2:1; policymakers are tasked with making difficult decisions that restructure our current system to fit the current population. 

“We should expect to see future changes being made to Social Security, especially in the form of tax rates on current workers being increased and benefits for retirees being decreased,” Jansen said.  

An aging population may also slow overall economic growth. Real gross domestic product expands partly through population growth and labor force participation. If birth rates remain low, slower population growth could impact long-term economic expansion.  

Long-term care for the elderly is another emerging challenge. Historically, families were expected to care directly for older relatives at home. Today, care has increasingly shifted to retirement communities, assisted living facilities and paid caregivers. That transition requires additional labor and financial resources.  

“The sector of the economy which provides care for the elderly is going to be looking for more workers,” Jansen said. “This will be a cost to the economy, as it takes real resources to implement the growth needed in the workforce. Even if the need is valuable, it isn’t free.”  

However, these labor shortages can also encourage older adults to remain a part of the workforce for longer.  

“We are going to start needing more workers, and with that comes incentives that make people want to work, including higher wages and more flexible schedules,” Jansen said. “Those incentives in turn keep people working for longer. I believe more people are working over the age of 65 now than there ever has been in the past.”