Editorial | The opinions of the elderly should not be ignored

Ksurveys often exclude people over 70 and 80 years old, even though the results are claimed to apply to the entire adult population. The issue has been discussed from time to time. For example, Päivi Topo, the Commissioner for the Elderly, has drawn attention to this (HS Opinion 25.8.).

It’s strange how such a glaring flaw hasn’t been fixed. It leads to many types of measurement errors. If the opinions of people over 70 are ignored in surveys, a completely wrong picture of public opinion can be obtained. It may distort the results of political polls but also of other opinion or value surveys.

The upper age limit for opinion polls has its background. In the old days, people died younger and old age hit many harder. Now the life expectancy of Finns is more than 80 years and the median life expectancy is twenty years even higher. Many girls born in Finland are predicted to live to be a hundred years old. More than 600,000 people over the age of 75 live in Finland, a large part of whom are up-to-date and active citizens.

Ignoring the opinions of older age groups is not only misleading but also insulting. Everyone can think about how it would feel if their opinions were routinely ignored because of their age, origin, or religious or sexual orientation. It is age discrimination at its purest.

As long as old people are legally competent, their opinions must be heard. Statistics Finland has already partially realized this change. It has raised the age limit of its surveys to 89 years.

In commercial opinion polls, the neglect of old people is partly due to the fact that old people have fewer digital skills than other age groups. That’s why reaching them and making inquiries by phone, for example, is more difficult and expensive.

According to Statistics Finland, a good third, or about 35 percent, of people aged 75–89 have never used the internet. On the other hand, according to European comparisons, the digital skills of those younger than them are at a good level in Finland. Year after year, the digital skills of new retirees are improving.

“

Thought models should be checked.

KBehind the discussion about the age limit for yselys is a deeper change in the attitude towards aging and the elderly. In Western countries, the importance of the elderly has increased while the younger age groups have decreased. At the same time, people remain more functional as they get older. It can be seen, for example, in the fact that there are two 80-year-olds running for president of the United States, and the president of Finland just turned 75. The public shapes the image of what older people are capable of.

In the past, the elderly have been used to being seen as an uninteresting group, because their opinions, lifestyle and consumption habits are more established than young people, who are considered more willing to experiment.

Thought models should be checked. Participating and active from a young age, the baby boomers live in retirement in a different way than the older baby boomers. Elderly people also do not form a group with similar values, but because of their background and life situation, they are probably a more diverse group than young people. Older age groups also have a lot of wealth, which may no longer be saved in the same way as before. It is therefore worth mapping out the wishes of the elderly.

Voutmoded attitudes also affect how pensioners work. in Japan almost 40 percent of companies paid wages to their employees over the age of 70 last year. In Japan, the employment of old people is partly due to both the labor shortage and the small amount of pensions. But it’s also about what is considered normal in society.

In addition to immigration, Finland needs an older domestic workforce, even when work is done part-time or at a slower pace. That also requires a change in attitudes. The practice of opinion polls that the opinions of people over 70 years old don’t matter will end up in the scrap heap.

The editorials are HS’s positions on a current topic. The articles are prepared by HS editorial staff, and they reflect the magazine principle line.