According to the IDB, The Argentine population over the age of 60 represented 15.7% of the total in 2020 and will be 22% in 2050. From the fact that life is getting longer and fuller, a great double opportunity arises for companies and organizations.
On the one hand, the obvious potential for economic growth if consciously aimed at satisfying the demands and needs of people aged 60+. That is what the Silver Economy is about, a topic that has been gaining relevance and in which I have specialized for some years.
On the other hand, I like to draw attention to the possibility of being an agent of change towards a more inclusive society, updating the current laconic and sad storytelling about post-60 life. There is a disconnect between how the elderly are represented or treated and what they aspire to: feel current and continue to be an active part of society for many more years.
People 60+ continue to use shampoo, take an interest in what’s going on, or drive. However, when looking at the communication proposed by brands and the media, it would seem that they do so to a lesser extent than the other age ranges. The idea that the elderly are not cool and that it is better to use images of millennials in advertisements, because the elderly will feel identified anyway -since “we all want to feel young”-, are two prejudices still installed in many companies.
Other times, older people are shown, but falling into what when I guide companies on how to generate engagement with the 60+ I call “negative inclusion”: older people are incorporated into the communication trying to make them cancheros, with attributes of young people, bodies and manes that do not show the passage of time. Exclusively proposing these models as the only valid ideal generates a stereotype of 60+ life that leaves many people out.
Making older people visible in a positive way in their heterogeneity as socially integrated beings with much to contribute will help companies to better connect with this target audience. But it will also generate a greater impact: it will make this society more inclusive for those who are going through this stage and also for all the others who may not be older yet, but who are on their way to becoming one soon.
Disseminator and activist of Positive Longevity.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
