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Over 50? We're the invisible generation


About Subversive

Do you have your own gripe with your local or state government? And what are the streets like in your part of town, in your home state?

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The over-50s are everywhere - yet why do we feel like we're not seen?

Did you hear about the psychiatric patient that visited his general practitioner? The nurse when into the GP and said: "Mr Smith is here. He needs to see you today to discuss the fact that he is invisible." The GP replies: "I am really busy. Can you tell him that I can’t see him today!"

The over-50s are the invisible generation.

The over-50s are the invisible generation. Picture: iStock

An oldie, but a goldie!

Reflecting on Mr Smith’s condition, I would bet you anything that he's over 50 years of age. I recently heard a number of over-50s women suggest that one of the major consequences of ageing was an increased sense of invisibility. I suspect this sense is more pronounced for women than me, but I am equally sure it impacts both genders.

It has interested me for some time that the marketing industry and their clients consistently focus their gaze on people under 40. With the exception of APIA and a handful of retirement villages, there appear to be very few businesses specifically targeting people over 50. If you can bear to watch commercial television tonight, look at the proportion of advertising that specifically targets middle-aged and older people. In most cases, these age groups are a secondary consideration at best.

Again, if you are watching commercial television tonight, count the number of programs focusing on young people - such as Home And Away and Neighbours - compared with the number focusing on older people, like As Time Goes By. You will soon find that the balance favours younger people, and that doesn't include sport, which is almost exclusively young people.

There is a great deal of talk these days about youth unemployment.  Politicians talk about it often, as they should. That said, those same politicians talk a great deal less about middle-aged unemployment, or unemployment among seniors.

Impacting more on women in our society is our fixation with the beauty of youth. While this is equally relevant for men, it seems to impact more on women because society considers beauty more important in women than in men. Whatever the case, as we age most of us are considered less attractive. This can be a real problem if, like the rest of society, you value beauty. Just ask Cher!

Along similar lines, there are fashion parades that focus on older people, but they are few and far between. Further to this, the range of fashion wearable by older people is smaller than that available for younger people. While this may be changing, fashion has somehow been seen as an interest of the young.

When we talk about innovation, we think of young entrepreneurs. We rarely think of innovators being people with experience and a long-developed depth of knowledge. This is despite the fact that there is absolutely no reason why a younger person should be more innovative than an older person. Creativity and innovation are not the preserve of the young, despite being seen to be.

Then celebrity culture is all about youth. TV personalities are invariably young. Actors get less work as they grow older. Popular musicians are either young or at the plastic surgeon trying to look young. Sporting heroes are considered old at 35, while golfers are considered to have a very long shelf life, retiring at 45.

Is it any wonder so many people over 50 are feeling increasingly invisible?

Everywhere they look there are celebrations of youth. The Y Generation are even starting to question the merits of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. The only older people in our media are: politicians, whom most people despise and never trust; business people, who are also distrusted (often with good reason); sporting coaches, who are blamed for every mistake the team makes; and our veterans, who are thought about once a year when they march.

Just as indigenous Australians, Muslim Australians and female Australians are under-represented and valued in the media, so are older Australians.

I believe YsPeople fills an important niche in creating a forum for older Australians, giving them a voice, advocating on their behalf and celebrating not just the contributions they have made, but also the contributions they are still making.

What do you think?

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