Today is the International Day of Older Persons. Seniorlife and its two platforms: the seniorlife.be directory and the 50+ social network: Senior.life, wish you a wonderful Senior's Day!

In this age of life extension, many people are living longer and in better shape than in centuries past. In 2021, Statbel predicted a life expectancy of around 82 years. This year, there are more than 2,500 centenarians in our country!

From time immemorial, older people have inspired and been valued for their knowledge and wisdom. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of preconceived ideas about the terms "older person", "senior" and "elders". Do these terms still reflect a fear of growing old?  Ideas about ageism are hard-wired!

After all, we all know young old people and old young people!

Stéphane Adam, professor of the psychology of old age at the University of Liège, tells us in a column on RTBF that:

"In the end, chronological age reflects a more complex reality. There isn't just one ageing process, but a number of 'ageing processes'," moderates Stéphane Adam. "Among other things, we talk about functional age. It's a way of defining age based more on how your body is. So I can be 60 and look 40, just as I can be 60 and look 80. There is also perceived age. Depending on our health or morale, we can feel old or younger than our chronological age. For a true definition of old age, we need to take into account what we call the bio-psycho-social factors of ageing. In conclusion, the 'at what age are we old' cursor can vary considerably. In sport, for example, a professional footballer is 'old' from the age of 30.

My son, Antoine, 28, defines himself as a "senior" in his sector.

The term is still very stereotypical and it's difficult to define what it means to be "old".

Our social network www.senior.life counts seniors from the age of 50 and shares different content with these 4 decades of people, respecting the appropriate subjects for these 40 or 50 years of life. The youngest seniors are around 50 and the oldest member of our community is connected and active at 92. The vast majority are in their sixties. What could be more pleasant than to benefit from the experience, ideas, knowledge and inspiration of these people who have the luxury of having a little more time for their passions and activities, or the desire to keep in touch with others at a time in their lives when they are less surrounded or less mobile?

Jacques Mercier, the social network's ambassador, is himself a man with a good heart and good eyes, and he's giving us some inspiration on how to age well. His secret? Never feel old, keep sharing your passions, stay as active as possible. Be optimistic, positive and take care of yourself.

So let's stop wracking our brains wondering whether, when we are called "senior", we are associated with an "old" being. The body may be a few years old, but it's still beautiful and so full of the riches of its life. It's society and the media that are deceiving us and drowning us in stereotypes that are now well out of date.

The mission of the Senior.Life social network is to help the community to age well, by providing links and sharing information, and by inspiring as many people as possible with articles, experts and, above all, this growing community of people who are happy to be in contact.

So, if you too love this idea of 'ageing well' and share these values, richness and beautiful inspirations, join us: www.senior.life