Middle age is not what it used to be. For many young people, the hallmarks of a contented midlife are likely to remain out of reach for longer than they did for previous generations – along with the stereotypical coping mechanisms of a midlife crisis. At the same time, as life expectancy goes up and more people expect to live in good health for longer, the very idea of when the middle of a life arrives has shifted.
So, when are you officially middle-aged? Gen Z writer Anjola Fashawe, 47-year-old Tammy Burns and health writer Lucy Gornall give their perspectives.
We often think of middle age as a point on a timeline which marks the end of youth. Infancy, childhood and teens: they all have very clear start and end points. But middle age? It’s a bit vague. And midlife now is not the same as midlife was in the past. Back in the 1920s, life expectancy sat in the mid to late fifties; today in the UK, the average woman can expect to live to 83 and the average man to 79.
A quick poll on my socials suggests most people view middle age as being around 45 and upwards. That said, I did receive the odd answer of 30, which left me gobsmacked. At 35, I feel just as spritely as in my twenties; certainly not in the “middle” of my life.
