The Economist reports Americans are aging disgracefully. Baby Boomers are known for their self-absorbed independent streak. The Baby Boomer Generation was born between 1946 and 1964. At the peak population, Baby Boomers numbered 79 million. Whenever Boomers encountered a new phase of life they tended to stretch, bend or break institutions. New maternity wards at hospitals had to be built or expanded to accommodate all the births. More schools had to be built. Universities had to expand. The economy expanded from all the workers and mass consumerism. Houses and new subdivisions had to be built in large numbers. Lately Baby Boomers are supersizing their homes rather than downsizing so young families have enough space. Many are also refusing to retire so Millennials can have their jobs.
This year the youngest of the Boomers – those born in 1964 – turn 62.5 and are eligible to take early Social Security. Boomers will put significant pressure on the Social Security System, Medicare, senior living and at some point, on assisted living and long-term care. In the meantime, Boomers are having the time of their lives, reports the Economist:
The words “retirement community” summon up images of easy chairs, overcooked food and endless daytime TV. Latitude Margaritaville, a community being built near Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, quickly disabuses these. “There was a toga party this past weekend,” says Lynette, a resident. “There was a live band, and it was a riot.” Barbie, another of the community’s “ambassadors” (residents employed by the developers to help sell it to potential newcomers), compares living there to “starting college all over again”. There are, she says, “drinks on the driveway, cocktails on the concrete”.
If Margaritaville’s residents are representative of their age cohort, there will be a lot more to the toga parties than fancy dress… [Boomers] belong to a generation that experimented with sex, drugs and rock’n’roll. As they reach older age, they are not giving up their old habits.
While alcohol use among younger people is down, among retirees, drug and alcohol use (and abuse) have surged. More from the Economist:
Yet among those over 55 alcohol use increased to 59% from 49%.
What applies to alcohol also applies to other mind-altering substances. In America cannabis use has risen sharply among older cohorts—perhaps unsurprisingly, given that it is now legal in a majority of states and the baby-boomer generation used cannabis the most when they were young.
With rising drug and alcohol use, so have overdose deaths and problems with alcohol.
Gray divorce is on the rise, according to the New York Times:
Rates of “gray divorce” — splits among those 50 and older — have risen sharply in the United States, doubling between 1990 and 2010…. [N]early 40 percent of divorces today occur between people 50 and older.
With the uptick in gray divorce, dating apps and drugs for erectile dysfunction, many seniors are dating again and engaging in the hookup culture. More from the Economist:
One study from the Netherlands found that the percentage of people over the age of 75 who report being sexually active leapt from 16% in 2014 to 27% less than a decade later.
Sexually transmitted diseases have also shot up.
The prevalence of gonorrhoea, to name but one, among Americans aged 55 and up has increased by more than six times since 2010.
The Economist also reports Baby Boomers are getting arrested for violence and other crimes. It has long been assumed – and mostly true – that career criminals age out of crime. Yet, arrest rates among those 50 and older have shot up in recent years.
From 1992 to 2022, among men arrested, the share over the age of 50 tripled, from 5% to 15%, according to data from the FBI.
Many of the trends highlighted above are evident elsewhere in the developed world too. The reasons are thought to be many. Higher income and longer lives means people are still active long after their parents slowed down, were disabled or dead. The Economist sums it up thusly:
The generations now ageing disgracefully were disgraceful in youth, and in middle age. If they’re behaving badly now, there is really not much to be done about it.
Read more at The Economist: Why people over the age of 55 are the new problem generation