(As featured in Fortune!) Data-Backed Musings on the Pursuit of Long Life
Longevity is on Americans’ minds
At Thursday Strategy, we’re fascinated by how people interact with anything new: new tech, new products, new services, new ideas. Health and wellness is on the mind as we kick off a new year, so this past month we studied an old health-related topic with new legs: longevity.
Read about this research in Fortune!
We had a hunch that what was once the domain of scientists and a small group of wealthy men is taking root in a big way across the American population, and could have long-term societal implications. It feels like “longevity” and related concepts (healthy aging, preventative medicine, healthspan) are everywhere, entering the zeitgeist with new vigor. In case you missed it: there are longevity clinics, longevity products and longevity influencers. It’s a whole longevity economy. You can even take a longevity-inspired vacation (sign us up, please 🙋♀️).
We took this topic to the people (1,000+ of them, see methodology deets below) to find out what’s really happening. Keep reading for our findings—and what we think they mean about the world we’re heading towards.
People–of all ages–really are thinking about long-term health and old age.
41% of Americans say that their social circles are talking about “lifespan” and “healthspan.” 55% say they have a clear vision of what they want their life to look like in their 70s, 80s, and beyond. And 61% say “I am thinking about the last decades of my life more now than I ever have before.”
It’s not just for the old. Young and mid-life* adults are thinking about their later years more now, too.
People are worried about their bodies, minds & wallets.
Americans are most concerned about the decline of physical ability, financial stability and mental sharpness as they age. The prevalence of concerns do differ by age group though: young and early midlife adults (ie, Gen Z and Millennials - see our note on age cohorts below*) are more likely to be concerned about the decline of mental health, appearance and social connections compared to their older counterparts:
Thought is turning to action: aging is an activity.
We’ve witnessed the verb-ification of various life stages over the past decades (see “adulting” and “parenting”)—and we believe that it’s coming for old age, too. “Aging” is no longer just a process that happens to someone, but rather one in which people expect to actively engage.
77% agree that aging well requires effort and intention
66% say “I am willing to work hard now to age better in the future”
53% say “I believe I have control over what my life looks like in my 70s, 80s, and beyond”
Most people, even the young, are doing something for their long-term health.
90% of Americans are taking one or more action today to care for their future selves
Roughly half of the US population says they’re paying attention to diet and/or sleep in service of their future health:
50% say they are making generally healthy food choices
47% say they are prioritizing sleep
And about a third of Americans are paying attention to toxins, exercise and/or their social lives to age well:
35% say they are avoiding potentially toxic products
34% say they do strength training
32% say they are investing time in relationships
There’s a gender gap in confidence and information sources.
We weren’t surprised to see higher confidence levels in men on the topic of aging; gender differences in confidence across categories are well documented. But considering that it’s also well documented that women do live longer on average, the extent of the confidence gap is pretty striking.
Men are more likely than women to agree that:
“I believe average lifespan will increase in my lifetime” (Men: 64%, Women 50%)
“I believe I have control over what my life looks like in my 70s, 80s and beyond” (Men: 58%, Women: 48%)
“I believe it’s likely I will live to be 100” (Men: 38%, Women 33%)
The gender divide is even more pronounced for young and early mid-life adults:
63% of Young Adult men say “I believe average lifespan will increase in my lifetime” vs. 40% of Young Adult women
60% of Early Midlife men say “I believe average lifespan will increase in my lifetime” vs. 45% of Early Midlife women
SNL was onto something: podcasts play a larger role in informing men's views on health.
Nearly 1 in 5 men (19%) are turning to podcasts for health and wellness related information. This is 1.5x the rate at which women do so.
Young and early-midlife men are the most likely to turn to podcasts for healthcare advice (22 and 27%, respectively). This is much higher than the rate of women in these age cohorts (11 and 12%, respectively).
Takeaways & Thought-Starters
To sum up: a large group of Americans is thinking about their last decades of life, discussing it in their social circles, and have real concerns about their physical, mental and financial abilities as they age. We know that engaged audiences plus real needs is a great recipe for innovation.
So how might you rethink your product and marketing strategies if…
…“healthy aging” is the new “anti-aging”? A shift from avoiding old age to optimizing it has obvious implications for the healthcare, beauty and self-care industries in particular. But the holistic nature of health and wellness today means that most categories could play a role in helping people take care of their current and future selves (eg, CPG brands helping consumers with healthy options and avoiding potentially harmful ingredients).
…old age holds new cachet? The majority of marketing has long portrayed older adults in stereotyped, unflattering ways—or overlooked them entirely. We anticipate that the coming demographic shift combined with new views on aging could put new pressure on brands to get their products and marketing for older consumers right.
…long-term thinking is in? This could be a big one. We might be moving towards a society with at least a smidge more long-term thinking to counterbalance the slide towards instant gratification and short attention spans. This is a clear opportunity in the financial services category (especially considering that financial stability is a top aging concern), and it’s more broadly applicable too: we believe that products and services that help people think and act proactively, and build better habits for long-term outcomes, will find an increasingly receptive audience.
“Is It Thursday Yet” is from the team at Thursday Strategy. We love hearing what people think (comes with the territory 🤓). Please reach out if you have thoughts on how our content can be most useful, topics you’d like to see us cover, if you’d like to share your thoughts on a topic—or if you’d just like to chat!