The children’s rhyme "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me," is not true.  Words convey and influence thoughts, feelings, and attitudes.  Although terms for older adults are sometimes used interchangeably, they are not synonymous, but convey significantly different meanings.  Just as we are sensitive to word choices around other diversity issues, we need to be aware of connotations of terms used for older adults.

The terms elderly and aged are often associated with social service and health programs, hospitals and nursing homes.  They can elicit feelings of sympathy, and in many cases are used almost synonymously with sickly.  Using the words as nouns, as in the elderly or the aged, is grammatically incorrect, and tends to imply a nameless, faceless, stereotyped population of poor, frail older people.  The publication manual of the American Psychological Association states that using elderly as a noun is unacceptable and considered pejorative.

Elder suggests respect and wisdom, as in respect your elders. However, elder is more often associated with males than females.  The term refers to a church position in some religions.  Some people think of elder in the context of specific cultural groups such as Native Americans.

Mature American is sometimes used in the United States, although corresponding terms for other age groups (e.g., young Americans) are seldom used.  The term is geographically restrictive, and some older immigrants in the United States do not associate themselves with it.  Some object to using American to refer only to persons in the United States, which is only one of several countries in North and South America.

Senior citizen generally suggests a younger-aged population, although it is usually applied for all persons over a designated age, such as 50.  People typically think of senior discounts and older persons engaged in group recreational activities.  Some people strongly object to the term.

Senior is a more relative term than senior citizen.   It refers to persons who have more years of experience, but who are not necessarily older in years, such as seniors in high school or senior bank officers.

Golden ager tends to connote a carefree, fun-loving, older person.  For some, the term suggests that older people are not to be taken seriously and their contributions to society are frivolous.  Others view it as a euphemism that glosses over difficulties that can arise in later life.

Older adult is a neutral, less stereotypical terms. Older is a relative expression, since everyone is older than someone else.  The word adult connotes respect, independence, and responsibility.  Younger people want to be treated as adults; so do older people.  Variations of this term are older person and older individual.  For these reasons, older adult is now the preferred term for most public speaking and expository writing.

Excerpt from Couper, D.  & Pratt, F.  Learning for Longer Life: Education Agenda for the 21^st Century, 1998.