Over-fifties are some of the highest spenders on going out, fashion and entertainment, as likely to live their lives on social networks and through their smartphones, yet they are still misperceived as being old-fashioned and outdated when it comes to dating.

New insights from Lumen, the first ever dating app specifically for the over-fifties, shows that over a quarter feel over-fifties are misrepresented in the media and that terms used to describe them are out of touch. 39% of over-fifties daters thinking the term ‘middle-aged’ makes people sound old- fashioned and not having an active and vibrant social life, while 41% feel the same about the term ‘silver surfer’. Even the term ‘older’ and the term ‘grey’ were seen to describe people with no social life. 

The top eight phrases that over-fifties think make their generation sound old- fashioned and not having an active and vibrant social life

• Seniors 49%
• Elderly 43%
• Silver Surfer 41%
• Middle Aged 39%
• Older 37%
• Mature 36%
• Grey 33%
• Baby Boomers 7%

Charly Lester, co-founder of Lumen, comments:

“The world of dating has changed, but dating offerings for people in their fifties and over have been left behind. Too many claim to cater for the over-fifties, but reflect outdated stereotypes and assumptions associated with ‘old age’.

“Many are portrayed as inept with technology, or labelled with the patronizing term ‘silver surfer', when in fact they are one of the most active groups on social media and on smartphones.”

Lumen’s insights also show that nearly one in five of over-fifties go to a music concert or gig at least twice a month, a third go to the cinema at least twice a month and 31% regularly go to a sporting event.  One in five over-fifties think their age group are often portrayed as closer to 70 than 40.

40% state that the generation is often portrayed as not even knowing how to use technology. Surprisingly, almost one in five of those surveyed think over-fifties are actually more socially active than those in their thirties in terms of going out and meeting people.

The research, based on views of 1,300 daters, shows 33% of over-fifties daters think their age group is represented as much older in photos than they are in real life. This reinforces recent YouGov research which found that just one in five (21%) of those aged 50 and upwards believe brands’ representations of their age group are accurate.

Lumen provides over-50s with a safe, welcoming and modern app to connect with genuine, like-minded singles, with 100% of profiles verified, a focus on quality conversations and zero tolerance for ageism. This week it has announced its ‘anti-ageism’ mission to end the misperceptions of this group. The new app has banned terms such as ‘silver surfer’ and ‘middle-aged’ as it looks to represent today’s generation and not the outdated perceptions of many.