Millennials are age group with biggest downer on the future

MILLENNIALS have the most negative outlook on the future, with a quarter believing that depression is normal in older age, a study has found.

Two in five 18- to 24-year-olds see dementia as inevitable, according to a survey of 2,000 adults by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH).

Researchers evaluated ageist beliefs across 12 areas of life – participation in activities, memory, appearance, physical health, personal growth, role in society, social connections, impression of ageing, personality, independence and control, happiness and emotional stability and wisdom.

They found that attitudes to ageing and older people are nearly three times more positive among those from black ethnic backgrounds.

Millennials have the most negative attitudes to ageing of all the age groups, with a quarter believing it is normal for older people to be unhappy and depressed, researchers found.

The report also found that the public is most ageist about appearance, memory loss and participation in physical and community activities. Half of women and a quarter of men say they feel pressure to stay looking young, while two thirds have no friends with an age gap of 30 years or more.

Shirley Cramer, the RSPH chief executive, said: “Too often ageist behaviour and language is trivialised [or] overlooked.

“Ageist attitudes abound in society and have a major impact on the public’s health and yet they are rarely treated with the seriousness they deserve.”