Member-only story
Aging | Psychology | Lifestyle | Senior Citizens | Senior | Stereotyping
Who Wants To Be A Senior Citizen?
it’s a mixed-message word combo
Funny, people want to be Senior Product Managers and Senior Developers, but who wants to be a Senior Citizen? Sarah E. Bourne
The above is what an online friend said when we discussed the term senior citizen. It led me to think more about the term [and why I'm not too fond of age labels.]
In differing contexts, the same word or words can and do have very different meanings.
When used in industry, medicine, research, or municipal agencies, the word Senior means a higher-level job, a more prestigious position, often with a higher income. For example: senior analyst, senior developer, senior sales manager, senior vice president, etc.
Even a high school or college Senior is an admired level of life. We speak reverently about “rising seniors” — those who will enter that level the next semester.
Yet — that same word, Senior, or the phrase Senior Citizen, when applied to people over 65 is often seen as a…
