There were a total of 255 responses, half from men, half from women (plus one who didn't fill in the gender question.
While we know that's not enough to provide a statistically accurate opinion poll, we hope you find the results interesting.
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Question 1 - When do you think old age begins?
The most popular response was that Old Age begins in your 70’s - that was the answer given by almost half (48%) of all respondees. In the 65+ age group, more people answered "the 80’s"; in the 16-24 group, more answered "the 60’s".
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Question 2 - What do you think is a good age to retire?
More that two thirds (68%) think that 60 or below is a good age to retire. The percentage that thought 70 and over was the best retirement age (16%) was the same as the percentage who liked the idea of retiring at 50 or less. The most popular retirement age in the 45-64 and 16-24 age groups was 60; other age groups preferred 55.
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Question 3 - Do you want to live to be a hundred?
There wasn’t much in it between the total who want to live to be 100 (47%) and the total who don’t (52%). But there was a big difference between men and women. Men want to live to be 100 (61%-39%); women don’t (33%-65%).
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Question 4 - As a general rule, when do you think people lose interest in sex?
In virtually all age groups and among men and women alike, the most popular answer to the question was "Never". The answer was particularly popular among 45-64 year olds (possibly the triumph of hope over experience).
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Question 5 - In deciding how the limited resources of the health service are spent, inevitably some areas have to be given a high priority, others a low priority. What priority should be given to diseases that affect mainly the elderly?
Respondents were asked to decide what priority should be given to diseases affecting mainly the elderly in sharing out scarce health service resources. About a third (34%) said lower; nearly two-thirds (62%) said higher. The proportion was much the same across the age groups.
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Question 6 - Overall, is it good for society or bad for society to have more and more people live to 100?
Across the age groups, more people thought that it was good for society to have more people living to 100. But there was a marked gender difference - women were more likely to respond that it was bad (53%) compared to 45% who said it was good.
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Question 7 - Research into diseases like Alzheimer's may involve controversial techniques like "embryo cloning". Broadly, do you welcome such research or are you worried about where it could lead.
More people welcomed medical developments (including controversial techniques like embryo cloning) than were worried about it (55%-45%). That was broadly true across the age groups, but there was a gender difference - women were more worried about what was happening, men more welcoming.
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Question 8 - The documented record for long life currently stands at 122. Some people believe it's possible to live much longer. Do you think it's a good idea for scientists to keep trying to increase life span?
People in general reacted unfavourably to efforts to increase lifespan. Only 37% thought it was a good idea to keep trying; 62% thought the opposite. Three-quarters of all women said it was not a good idea to keep trying to increase lifespan; among men it was pretty much half and half. In the 65-plus age group, it was exactly half and half.
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Question 9 - Thinking about the day you retire, which of these phrases best describes your feelings? "I can't wait for it to happen" or "I'm not really looking forward to it"
The older you are, the more you’re looking forward to retirement. By a big margin, the 35-44 and 45-64 age groups can’t wait for the day. Younger people were likely to answer that they are not looking forward to it.
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Question 10 - If you're already retired, which of these phrases best sums up your attitude towards retirement? "It's great to be retired" or "Being retired is not much fun".
Among those who are already retired, there was a clean sweep. Asked to choose which phrase best describes their attitude to retirement, not a single person chose "It’s not much fun". At least among pensioners who surf the net, it seems, retirement is "great".
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