The effects of ageism

Our most recent research suggests that ageism is widespread -  two thirds (60%) of people we spoke to have experienced ageism from others since turning 50. Almost half of those tell us they experience it at least monthly, with a quarter experiencing it weekly.

It’s not difficult to see how this ageism from others might be internalised by us and start to impact on how we think about ourselves or what we do. Almost three quarters (72%) of those we spoke to said that their own thoughts relating to age, or expectations or assumptions or judgements because of their age had stopped them doing something.  

Meanwhile, two fifths of people had experienced institutional ageism; telling us that they had experienced negative treatment by an organisation, such as a company that employed them.  

Our research indicated that a fifth (20%) of people had experienced all three forms of ageism since turning 50.

People experience ageism from others in employment (37%), as a consumer (34%), in health and social care settings (27%) and in social or leisure settings (24%).  But friends (10%) and family (15%) are also sources of negative treatment.

Other settings where people experience being spoken to or treated negatively by others because of their age include on social media (14%), public transport (12%), in education or training (6%).

Ageism is particularly common in comments about appearance - being told “you look good for your age” (55%) (highest among 50-59 year olds) or  “you don’t look your age” (46%) can reinforce the misconception that ageing is bad or that we should be ashamed of our appearance if it does not conform to a particular ideal.

People told us that ageism is experienced in the assumptions others make about us, that we can’t do something (51%) or that we do or don’t want to do something because of our age (40%).

Feeling dismissed was a common thread that people talked about experiencing – for example, being talked over (39%), not being listening do (39%), not being asked their opinion (28%) or having their contribution not valued (36%).

These are just some of the ways people say they’ve been treated negatively as they’ve got older.  Sadly, these examples are every day and ordinary and they are often written off as part of ageing.  But they’re not.  They’re ageism – and it doesn’t have to be this way.

The real-life impacts are felt in many ways.  People told us they had not taken part in social activities (34%), or sadly ceased to set goals (19%), or think positively about their future (27%).

Decisions about interacting with others are affected; 23% told us they had avoided social situations or interactions with work colleagues (23%).  Regrettably, 19% of people we spoke to said they’d limited or stopped relationships as a result of being spoken to or treated negatively because of their age.

There are health related implications too - 24% told us they had avoided or limited certain physical activity or exercise, with 23% saying they had dismissed or not sought help for a health issue.

People told us they’d stopped doing a hobby or an activity they enjoyed (10%), not gone to events e.g music festivals (19%) or not travelled or gone to certain places 20%).

There are work related consequences for many - for example many (16%) said they’d been unsuccessful in getting a job interview or a job offer.

Ultimately, being treated or spoken to negatively by others makes people feel not valued (53%), unimportant (45%), or patronised (47%) leaving them with low self-confidence and feeling isolated (28%) and excluded (39%).

Females are more likely to report feeling not valued (57% vs 49% males), patronised (55% vs 39% males), unimportant (52% vs 38% males), low self-confidence (52% vs 30%), sad 43% vs 30%) and invisible (44% vs 21%).

Ageism is not something that has to be accepted as in inevitable part of getting older – it is something that we can all have the power to change.  Whilst a minority of the people we spoke to would always challenge ageism if they experienced it (8%), just over half said they never (33%) or rarely (23%) would.

We know it can feel daunting to challenge ageism when we’re on the receiving end of it.  Some of the reasons given for not doing so included being embarrassed (16%) / not wanting to cause a scene (41%) or to appear oversensitive (26%).  A quarter simply said they didn’t feel confident enough (24%) which makes sense when we consider that one of the impacts of ageism is that it leaves many of us with low self-confidence (41%).

12% of people said they didn’t know what to say. We’ve got some tips on challenging ageism here.