USA TODAY International Edition
Marketing, politics, entertainment — ‘ all awake to the shift that’s coming’
and designers offer a provocative picture of Future Street, USA, where we just might ) nd that:
uMost homes are single- story with interiors that feature so-called transgenerational design touches, such as levers and latches manipulated by the entire hand and not arthritic ) ngers, custom-height countertops and wider hallways and doors for wheelchairs.
uMovie theaters virtually have disappeared as Internet- bred boomers browse through a tidal wave of age-appropriate Hollywood fare from the comfort of their posture- preserving couches.
uCrosswalk lights stay green longer to allow this elderly army to safely reach sidewalks, and ads that showcase the hip octogenarian feature large typefaces and colors that acknowledge the aging eye’s inability to distinguish between hues such as pink and yellow. The change is already here
It’s not so much that the young will be ignored by goods and service providers; it’s that the older crowd won’t be.
“The demand from this large group of aging boomers will force products of all kinds to be designed without penalty to any age group,” says James Pirkl, director of Transgenerational Design Matters, an Albuquerquenon- pro ) t that offers guidance on designing for the elderly. “In 2050, there will be 9million people over 85, or triple what we have now. So society’s focuswill de ) nitely change.”
Some of these ageist shifts have begun.
The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association says members are keeping tomorrow’s on-the-go boomers front and center as they design RVs that increasingly resemble movable homes. “ Boomers are fanatical about their lifestyle, which is de ) ned by freedom and < exibility almost regardless of any energy crisis,” says association president David Humphreys, who is con ) dent that the need to stay mobile will trump rising gas costs.
Today, upscale RVs run anywhere from $100,000 to $ 700,000; the high-end vehicles feature upscale furnishings and full Web connectivity, a must for a group that likes staying in touch while being on the move in luxury. “Boomers may well make these RVs their permanent homes,” Humphreys says.
At Boeing, engineers working on the company’s 787 Dreamliner, which is due in 2008, have been acting like old folks so that the already plane’s interior ) ts boomers.
“ We had them try and function in a Third Age Suit, which when you put it on reduces the < ex in your knees, back, elbow and neck,” says payloads engineer Vicki Curtis, referring to a movement- restricting costume the airplane manufacturer borrowed from Ford Motor. “ You can’t even move your knuckles.”
The result: Expect more leg room, ergonomic seating and air systems that improve breathing.
But while “ there will be many older folks using this 787, we don’t want it to look or feel like a nursing home,” Curtis says. “ The older folks of tomorrow just won’t act like the ones who preceded them.” Older but ‘ thinking younger’
As the architects of today’s youth-obsessed culture, boomers proudly < aunt their Dorian Gray complex. When they look in the mirror, the years melt away both ) guratively ( it’s hard to feel old if you’re doing senior triathlons) and literally ( between Botox and plastic surgery, it has never been easier to defy Mother Nature).
“ Right now, 50 is the new 35, and that sort of thinking will just continue with this crowd,” says Marshall Cohen, chief analyst at NPD Group of Port Washington, N. Y., a ) rm that studies consumer behavior. “ Boomers are getting older, but they’re actually thinking younger.”
Marketers increasingly will cater to this group, Cohen says. Already The Gap has launched Forth & Towne, aimed at women over 35. The move comes in response to the success of Chico’s, women’s stores that size clothes with a varied population in mind.
Such specialized retail shops will proliferate and creep north in target age. “ Right nowvery fewstores in malls are aimed at people over 65, but they’ll soon represent about 20% of all stores,” Cohen says. “ Instead of going after the youth market, many manufacturers will grow with their customers. That is a huge change, away from the young and toward the old.”
Well, now. Could it be that age might soon trump beauty?
Might the future Paris Hiltons of the world be forced to staff hotel front desks for their allowance as a grandparent- dominated society )nds her antics uninteresting? Would 2046’ s sexiest man alive be an elegantlywrinkled George Clooney ( 85 on May 6), Hollywood’s diva be grandma Eva Longoria ( 71 on March 15) and that year’s president be Yoda- like tech guru Bill Gates ( 91 on Oct. 28)?
“Marketers, politicians, entertainment moguls — they are all very awake to the shift that’s coming,” says Peter Sealey, former marketing chief with Columbia Pictures and co- author of Not on My Watch: Hollywood vs. The Future.
“ Think back to the 15th century, when eyeglasses ) rst appeared. That invention literally added 20 years to a person’s life in terms of being able to function and be productive,” Sealey says. “ Well, we’re going to see the same sort of enhancements going on this time around, a collection of devices that will make 95 look like 65.”
Sixty- ) ve. That signpost for retirementwill be another casualty of the boomer era. Otto von Bismarck picked the age at which folks could dip into a social insurance program in the late 1800s, when many folks were dead by 65. In a 2046 brimming with medical breakthroughs, you might get takers if the retirement age were 95.
“ Expect to see more ads featuring old boomers at work, because compared to the generation that went before them, these people will just not retire,” says Peter Francese, demographic trends analyst for ad agency Ogilvy & Mather. “They’re college- educated, and they can continue to make a good living well past retirement age.”
Age Wave’s Dychtwald, whose latest book is The Power Years: A User’s Guide to the Rest of Your
Life, says boomers will see their golden years “ as a playground of new beginnings. People will break away from the gravitational pull of aging. You might see 70- year- olds on campus with 18- year-olds. In my day, old people looked old. Not so now, and less so in the future.”
What’s more, looks are bankable.
“ During the dot-com boom, we rewarded youth and suffered for it. ( We now see) it’s criminal to discard the experience of the old and that retirement is a big loss to society,” says journalist Julie Winokur, who, along with her photographer husband, Ed Kashi, created the book and online documentary Aging in America: The Years Ahead.
“ Back in the ’ 70s, there was a true generation gap between the old and young,” Winokur says. “ But our work reveals that this time around, there is no gap, just a < uid transition between the ages.”
Indeed, another part of the onebigvision is the promise of bonding between bookend generations. “ It can be a world where grandparents care about their children and grandchildren, and back up the chain,” says Bill Novelli, CEO of AARP.
Novelli concedes it will take some societal re-engineering to accomplish that, from restoring city centers ( boomers will trade homes in the suburbs for the convenience and culture of urban life) to revamping the nation’s health care system (“ If the costs continue to rise, we could well spend half our country’s gross national product on health care, and thatwon’twork”).
But overall, he is optimistic. “ Just like the nation coped with all the babies born after World War II, America will grow older successfully,” he says. “ I don’t see intergenerational warfare.” But others do.
“ It will cost money to stay healthy and good- looking,” says Konrad Kressley, professor emeritus at the University of South Alabama who specializes in future studies. “ So you are likely to have wealthy, older Anglos on one end of the spectrum and working-class, largely minorities on the other. Many scholars think a war between these groups could break out, a political war pitting privileged elders against the immigrant young.”
There are ways to diffuse this “ social dynamite,” says Paul Saffo, director of the think tank Institute for the Future. His suggestions include a “ life tax” requiring boomers to pay for the privilege of sticking around, taking some of the tax burden off the young. Golden years in Goa, India?
Some boomers might simply leave the country, making room for the next generation to blossom, Saffo says. It would be a generational “ cleansing” that, in the old days, was handled by an early death. “ I’m waiting for the ) rst retirement cities to pop up in places like Goa, India,” he says. “The weather’s great, people speak English, and it’s cheap. What more do youwant?”
In fact, some boomers may want to take that advice one step farther — into outer space. By 2046, if boomer airline tycoon Richard Branson has his way, there could well be ways to live out that Cocoonlike fantasy and head for another corner of the cosmos.
That would be so boomer. Big, brash and bold. After all, this is the intrepid generation that fought for civil rights, demanded an end to the Vietnam War, booted a president and revolutionized communications. Earth might not be enough for this crowd.
In his 2001 science ) ction novel Borrowed
Time, Paul Levinson sends two 80- year-olds on a mission to Alpha Centauri, based on the book’s premise that people with active intellectual lives are the ones who live longest. “ Hey, that well could happen in real life down the road a few decades,” says Levinson, who teaches communications at Fordham University. “ And when they go, you can be sure these old folks will be blasting The Beatles or the Stones on their trip. Let’s face it, boomers have dominated the culture so far, and they’re likely to keep on doing it.”