You're Only as Old as a Poll Makes You Feel - East Idaho News

You’re Only as Old as a Poll Makes You Feel

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Getty 050212 WomanGraphBrandX?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1335983291188Brand X Pictures/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Sixty-one is the new 51 or maybe even 41 if you happen to be at least 45-years-old, if not older.

In this age-conscious society with everyone try to pass themselves off as younger than they really are, a survey by The Marist College Institute finds that one’s answer to the question “Is age 61 old?” depends on how close you are to that milestone.

For instance, when the question was asked of people 45 years or older, more than two-thirds said 61 was middle-aged, 20 percent said those that are 61 are still young and just 13 percent believed that a person of 61 years is old.

On the flip side, respondents to the survey who were under the age of 45 had different ideas about what it means to be 61 with 56 percent thinking it was middle-aged, seven percent claiming it was young and 37 percent considering a 61-year-old an old-timer.

On average, 63 percent in the poll of 1,080 adults said 61 was middle-aged, 15 percent called it young and 22 percent put 61-year-olds in the senior citizen category.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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