Age has become a topical subject at Flow recently, as two staff members reached the significant milestones of 30 and 40 within a week of each other.
Hitting a new decade always makes one pause and reflect, not only on what you have achieved so far and what the last decade contained, but also on what the next decade is likely to bring. It’s the same when you hit 50, with just that bit more to reflect on.
Another recent event at Flow that brought age to the forefront was a presentation that we did for a client, where we thought to individually present ourselves as an identified segment of their target market. As I surveyed the characteristics of each sector to try to find the most likely fit, I was dismayed to discover that I didn’t fit into any as the “cut-off” was 49!
As everyone tells you as the birthdays tick by, “age is all in the mind”, and it may sound trite but it’s true – you are only as old as you feel. It’s also true of others though – perceptions of what it means to be a certain age are all in their minds, and we’ve all been guilty of lumping “old” people into a category that is fairly generalised and not very heartening. I remember being mortified at the age of 11 when my parents announced that they were expecting a laatlammetjie. How could I face my friends at school to tell them that my aged mother was expecting? She was actually 36 at the time. We’ve all been guilty of writing our grandparents off as ancient, and of seeing the grey-haired teachers at school as being irrelevant and out of touch. Funny how the mindset shifts when you are on the receiving end of this prejudice.
So, I feel the need to now speak out for the much-ignored and maligned market segment that I will call “50, Fresh and Fabulous”. We may appear somewhat faded but inside all of us, beneath all those layers (physical and mental), still lives and breathes the 17-, 24- and 35-year-old that we once were. We still know all the words to Rodrigues’ Cold Fact, we still think Harrison Ford was hot in Raiders of the Lost Ark and we may still have a liking for Indian print wraparound skirts (even if the overlap of fabric is not as large as it once was!)
Maybe our physical prime is past and the need to wear glasses has become constant, but writing this generation off too early is a serious mistake. The most active, knowledgeable and up-to date person I know on social media is 55. The most positive, upbeat and enthusiastic person I go to to get perspective on life, is 75. The keenest mountain bike enthusiast I know who comes back from a ride covered in the most bruises, grazes and mud is in his 50s. And the 53-year-old teacher who left the profession for 10 years, but is back in the classroom and adored by her kids for the love, compassion and discipline that she brings.
One of the few (very few) benefits of aging is the freedom to no longer worry about what people think. While this tendency can turn some into difficult, eccentric old biddies who are best avoided at all costs, it also allows for some sensible perspective to be gained. In a society so obsessed with status, appearance, friend numbers and Facebook-worthy achievements, it is great to have the freedom to no longer care and to see all of that for the nonsense it really is. It’s quite liberating. Not really caring about opinions allows you the freedom to order that choc nut sundae in public even if you’re a tad overweight, it lets you wear those old navy tracksuit pants to the shops because they are comfortable, and it means you can sing Sugar Man really loud in your car in traffic because it’s a great song.
We may not be able to keep up on the treadmill any more but we aren’t out to pasture, we aren’t “past it”, we don’t like to be looked at with sympathy and we don’t need to be handled with kid gloves. As a market sector, we’re active, interested, experienced, usually informed and hey, some of us still have a bit of to contribute! So, forget the terms “fuddy duddy” or “old fart” – we’re over 50, and we’re Fresh and Fabulous!