Only show the nice pictures

The over-50s in Britain are happier than at any other time in their lives. Well that is what a new report from the UK’s Government tells us.

This is a taste of what the research says (taken from the Telegraph).

A Government study suggests 50 is the new 30, with many who have passed their half-century feeling in the prime of life. Often dubbed "Gotys" - Getting Older, Thinking Younger - they are ambitious, financially more secure and less stressed.
Nearly one in six uses social networking websites and internet chatrooms, while emailing is becoming the norm.

Having paid off their mortgages and raised their children to independence, many are still enjoying robust good health into their 60s and beyond.These are the people fuelling a boom in the leisure market.

And so on and so on and so….

This ‘research’ is part of the Government's "Generation Xperience". The "what" campaign I hear you asking? Having spent a bit of time fishing around Government web sites I discovered a couple of places that pertain to be all about the ‘Xperience’. Site 1. Site 2.

The more I read of this campaign the more it looks to me as if it a publicity campaign by Government to try and convince the older voter why they should be grateful to them.

It has not exactly been making a great impact with the 50-plus industry in the UK. Today I was attending an event with one of the UK’s large suppliers of services to the 50-plus and out of the ten people I asked, only one person had heard of the thing.

I then discovered this blog posting that claims the Government spin machine is peddling a false view of old age and suggested that the PR company promoting the campaign was only interesting in portraying older people as happy and carefree. Organisations involved in the campaign have been instructed only to use promotional images in which elderly people look affluent and active.

Out go pictures reflecting the reality of life for many older people. In come photos with a youthful-looking couple laughing as they run across a beach, a woman about to work out in a gym, another woman happily gardening, a couple cuddling on holiday and a man enjoying a game of tennis. Here are the guidelines.

As you can see the approved images are marked with a large tick, while those to be avoided are marked with a cross.

This is a fantastic insight into the mind of Government and the way it attempts to suppress reality and promote an image, which is true for the few, but only a dream to the majority. What a bunch. Dick Stroud