CULTURE

We asked Creative Thinker and Founder Nicolas Roope to share his vision on the future ageing of Gen-X

With demographic changes pushing back retirement age, and changing attitudes that question the relevance of ‘retirement’ in light of today’s new work patterns and the radically evolving workplace, Gen-X may not have grown up as digital natives, but it is clear that technology will play an important role in making their later years more productive, socially interesting and entertaining.

Old age is the one territory that has so far escaped the creeping influence of Gen-X’s cultural super-weapon - style. It still seems, from the status quo, that style, taste and cool are not words associated with ageing. They are shed somehow in the transition from middle to old age like a snake’s skin. For instance, what retirement homes have you seen with any architectural design integrity and consideration? When you design a product for the aged, I imagine the original brief in BIG BOLD LETTERS reads: “make it look really boring and anodyne because old people can’t bear style”

As we X-ers take our positions at the senior end of the spectrum, I suspect much of this will change. New environments, experiences, products, entertainment and leisure will all be reimagined for a very different set of tastes and expectations. We’re going to bring irreverence to being elderly. We’re going to make old age cool.

Tailored products and services will cater to the evolving needs and desires of older communities. These will deliver wellness and lifestyle opportunities that embrace emerging trends, like legalised cannabis, not just for health benefits, but to demonstrate a new (maybe also irreverent) attitude towards growing older.

I think fashion too will change as old-age hipsters will want to distance themselves from conventional norms associated with growing old - to be disregarded and deemed irrelevant - tropes that have long-outlived any relevance to today’s attitudes towards ageing. I have a hunch that metamorphosed activewear might evolve with specific updates available for people as they age, such as posture support. If older people are to participate more actively in mainstream culture, fashion will be an important way to signal new attitudes and belonging to this new epoch.

Take transportation - a critically important sector. It needs to adapt to the specific needs of older people but also respond to the rapidly developing autonomous tech sector that may give mobility-challenged people new freedoms, even those who are wheelchair bound. Shared ‘driverless’ mobility models may deliver not only cost efficiency but also new found freedoms, as the elderly often have to ‘give up’ driving, or can no longer manage public transport.

Back in the software space, I imagine older people engaging with work in new ways, leveraging the experience, but mediated, facilitated and distributed by technologies to make work efficient and sustainable for the contributor. Another way to remain productive and integrated.

Ageing hipsters won’t accept “old people’s homes” as they exist today. They’ll need to be much more stimulating, modern and thoughtfully located. They’ll be placed on regenerative farms where even light toil can provide meaningful contributions to farm productivity. Through being productive and helping grow or nurture life, older people will feel valued and engaged.

As the circular economy gains momentum there may also be many micro-jobs and projects undertaken by older people with useful skills like needlework and knitting for example. While AI might establish patterns, colour guides and instructions, individuals might execute work and again contribute meaningfully, but in their own time and in a comfortable environment. Online sharing platforms, such as Deli and Olio, suggest a rich community-based market of exchange could create an interesting means to connect and contribute.

Nicolas Roope is an award winning creative (including D&AD Black, Webby Awards, Cannes Lions and One Show Pencils). He is currently Chief Creative Thinker @ GGGGGGGGG. He founded various companies including Poke, Plumen, Lovie Awards, Hulger and Internet Week. He is also a consultant, partner, NED, where his tech, creative, design, sustainability and strategy chops count.