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{{Short description|Late-20th-century demographic phenomenon of population aging}}
'''The Silver Tsunami''' (also known as '''The Grey Tsunami''' or '''Gray Tsunami''') is a [[metaphor]] used to describe [[population aging]]. The silver [[tsunami]] metaphor has been used in [[popular media]] and in [[scholarly literature]]<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|author=Barusch, Amanda|title=The Aging Tsunami: Time for a New Metaphor?|journal=Journal of Gerontological Social Work|volume=56|pages=181–184|date=2013|url= http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/01634372.2013.787348|doi=10.1080/01634372.2013.787348}}</ref>
'''Silver tsunami''' (also known as '''grey tsunami''', '''gray tsunami''', '''silver wave''', '''gray wave''', or '''grey wave''') is a [[metaphor]] used to describe [[population aging]]; specifically, [[baby boomers]] reaching the age of 65 starting in 2011.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Delafuente |first=Jeffrey C. |date=2009-02-19 |title=The silver tsunami is coming: will pharmacy be swept away with the tide? |journal=American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education |volume=73 |issue=1 |pages=1 |doi=10.5688/aj730101 |issn=1553-6467 |pmc=2690864 |pmid=19513138}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Prašnikar |first1=Eva |last2=Borišek |first2=Jure |last3=Perdih |first3=Andrej |date=2021-03-01 |title=Senescent cells as promising targets to tackle age-related diseases |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S156816372030386X |journal=Ageing Research Reviews |volume=66 |pages=101251 |doi=10.1016/j.arr.2020.101251 |pmid=33385543 |s2cid=229717629 |issn=1568-1637|doi-access=free }}</ref> This demographic will include a massive expansion to the number of people living in first world nations over the age of 80 <ref>{{Cite book |last=Eurostat (European Commission) |url=https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2785/811048 |title=Ageing Europe: looking at the lives of older people in the EU : 2019 edition |date=2019 |publisher=Publications Office of the European Union |isbn=978-92-76-09815-7 |location=LU |doi=10.2785/811048}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Delafuente |first=Jeffrey C. |date=2009-02-19 |title=The Silver Tsunami is Coming: Will Pharmacy Be Swept Away with the Tide? |url=https://doi.org/10.5688/aj730101 |journal=American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education |language=en |volume=73 |issue=1 |pages=1 |doi=10.5688/aj730101 |issn=0002-9459 |pmc=2690864 |pmid=19513138}}</ref>.The silver [[tsunami]] metaphor has been used in [[popular media]] and in [[scholarly literature]]<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|author=Barusch, Amanda|title=The Aging Tsunami: Time for a New Metaphor?|journal=Journal of Gerontological Social Work|volume=56|issue=3|pages=181–184|date=2013|doi=10.1080/01634372.2013.787348|pmid=23548140|s2cid=41067427|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Jasper | first=Mila | title=A silver wave? California braces for elderly boom that could overburden state | website=The Sacramento Bee | date=14 June 2019 | url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article231449458.html | access-date=28 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/2018/11/04/aging-america-forecasts-gray-wave-u-s-opinion/1876567002/|title = Aging America forecasts a 'gray wave' for U.S.&#124; Opinion|website = [[The Tennessean]]}}</ref>
to refer to the late-twentieth century demographic phenomenon of [[population aging]] in major media platforms including [[The Economist]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/15450864 |title=The silver tsunami |publisher=The Economist |date=2010-02-04 |accessdate=2016-03-03}}</ref> [[Forbes.com]],<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/reenitadas/2015/08/11/a-silver-tsunami-invades-the-health-of-nations/#62e5cfc04c59 |title=A Silver Tsunami Invades The Health Of Nations |website=Forbes.com |date=2015-08-11 |accessdate=2016-03-03}}</ref> and multiple news outlets.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/our-hospitals-are-not-ready-for-the-grey-tsunami/article19113784/|title=Our hospitals are not ready for the grey tsunami|work=The Globe and Mail}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2015/09/30/preparing-for-the-grey-tsunami-editorial.html|title=Preparing for the ‘grey tsunami’: Editorial|date=30 September 2015|work=Thestar.com}}</ref> The phrase has also been used to refer more specifically to [[health]] and [[economic]] implications associated with population aging by major [[Medical journals|medical publications]] including [[The British Medical Journal]],<ref>{{cite web|author=Bob Roehr |url=http://www.bmj.com/content/345/bmj.e4686 |title=US geriatric mental health workforce needs to expand, says Institute of Medicine |publisher=The BMJ |date=2012-07-10 |accessdate=2016-03-03}}</ref> [[New England Journal of Medicine]],<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1211456?query=aging-geriatrics&amp;goback=.gmr_2181454.gde_2181454_member_211383190&amp;=& |title=The Underside of the Silver Tsunami — Older Adults and Mental Health Care |journal=The New England Journal of Medicine |volume=368 |date=2013 |pages=493–6 |doi=10.1056/nejmp1211456 |pmid=23343039 |author=Bartels SJ, Naslund JA}}</ref> and [[Health professional|professional]] organizations including [[American Psychological Association]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/10/tsunami.aspx |title=Preparing for the ‘silver tsunami' |website=Apa.org |accessdate=2016-03-03}}</ref>
to refer to the late-twentieth-century demographic phenomenon of [[population aging]] in major media platforms including ''[[The Economist]]'',<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/node/15450864 |title=The silver tsunami |publisher=The Economist |date=2010-02-04 |access-date=2016-03-03}}</ref> [[Forbes.com]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/reenitadas/2015/08/11/a-silver-tsunami-invades-the-health-of-nations/#62e5cfc04c59 |title=A Silver Tsunami Invades The Health Of Nations |website=Forbes.com |date=2015-08-11 |access-date=2016-03-03}}</ref> and multiple news outlets.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/our-hospitals-are-not-ready-for-the-grey-tsunami/article19113784/|title=Our hospitals are not ready for the grey tsunami|work=The Globe and Mail}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2015/09/30/preparing-for-the-grey-tsunami-editorial.html|title=Preparing for the 'grey tsunami': Editorial|date=30 September 2015|work=Thestar.com}}</ref> The phrase has also been used to refer more specifically to [[health]] and [[economic]] implications associated with population aging by major [[Medical journals|medical publications]] including ''[[The British Medical Journal]]'',<ref>{{cite journal|author=Bob Roehr |url=http://www.bmj.com/content/345/bmj.e4686 |title=US geriatric mental health workforce needs to expand, says Institute of Medicine |journal=BMJ |volume=345 |pages=e4686 |date=2012-07-10 |access-date=2016-03-03|doi=10.1136/bmj.e4686 |pmid=22782905 |s2cid=34744518 }}</ref> ''[[New England Journal of Medicine]]'',<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Underside of the Silver Tsunami — Older Adults and Mental Health Care |journal=The New England Journal of Medicine |volume=368 |issue = 6|date=2013 |pages=493–6 |doi=10.1056/nejmp1211456 |pmid=23343039 |author=Bartels SJ, Naslund JA|doi-access=free }}</ref> and [[Health professional|professional]] organizations including [[American Psychological Association]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/10/tsunami.aspx |title=Preparing for the 'silver tsunami' |website=Apa.org |access-date=2016-03-03}}</ref>


According to Google’s [[Ngram Viewer]], variants of the Silver Tsunami metaphor (for example, ''[[age wave]], grey hoard, rising tide, grey'' or ''gray tsunami'')<ref>{{cite journal|title=Let the reader think of the burden': Old Age and the Crisis of Capacity.|journal=Occasion: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities |volume=4|publisher=[[Stanford University]]|date=2012|pages=1–16|url=http://arcade.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/article_pdfs/OCCASION_v04_Charise_053112_0.pdf}}</ref> first occurred in reference to population aging in the 1980s.<ref name=":0" />
According to Google’s [[Ngram Viewer]], variants of the silver tsunami metaphor (for example: [[Population ageing|age wave]], grey hoard, rising tide, grey or gray tsunami)<ref>{{cite journal|title=Let the reader think of the burden': Old Age and the Crisis of Capacity.|journal=Occasion: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities |volume=4|date=2012|pages=1–16|url=http://arcade.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/article_pdfs/OCCASION_v04_Charise_053112_0.pdf}}</ref> first occurred in reference to population aging in the 1980s.<ref name=":0" />


==Controversy==
==Controversy==
Scholars from a range of disciplines including [[humanities]], [[health professions]], and [[social science]] have argued that the ''silver tsunami'' does not constitute [[Neutrality (philosophy)|neutral]] language to describe population aging, calling it "dangerous"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.annalsoflongtermcare.com/blog/gray-tsunami-dangerous-metaphor-aging-discourse |accessdate=February 26, 2016 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511164243/http://www.annalsoflongtermcare.com/blog/gray-tsunami-dangerous-metaphor-aging-discourse |archivedate=May 11, 2015 }}</ref> and "a nasty metaphor for older adults".<ref name=":0" />
Scholars from a range of disciplines including [[humanities]], [[health professions]], and [[social science]] have argued that the ''silver tsunami'' does not constitute [[Neutrality (philosophy)|neutral]] language to describe population aging, calling it "dangerous"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.annalsoflongtermcare.com/blog/gray-tsunami-dangerous-metaphor-aging-discourse|title=Gray Tsunami: A Dangerous Metaphor in Aging Discourse? {{!}} Annals of Long Term Care |access-date=February 26, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511164243/http://www.annalsoflongtermcare.com/blog/gray-tsunami-dangerous-metaphor-aging-discourse |archive-date=May 11, 2015 }}</ref> and "a nasty metaphor for older adults".<ref name=":0" />


Critics of the ''silver tsunami'' phrase (and its variants) have argued that it represents an important example of [[ageist]] language. For example, Andrea Charise (2012) writes that the prevalent use of this metaphor in popular and professional media "testifies to the barely conscious figurative language that serves to construct perceptions of an aging population."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://arcade.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/article_pdfs/OCCASION_v04_Charise_053112_0.pdf |format=PDF |title="Let the Reader Think of the Burden": Old Age and the Crisis of Capacity |author=Andrea Charise |website=Arcade.stanford.edu |accessdate=2016-03-03}}</ref>
Critics of the ''silver tsunami'' phrase (and its variants) have argued that it represents an important example of [[ageist]] language. For example, Andrea Charise (2012) writes that the prevalent use of this metaphor in popular and professional media "testifies to the barely conscious figurative language that serves to construct perceptions of an aging population."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://arcade.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/article_pdfs/OCCASION_v04_Charise_053112_0.pdf |title="Let the Reader Think of the Burden": Old Age and the Crisis of Capacity |author=Andrea Charise |website=Arcade.stanford.edu |access-date=2016-03-03}}</ref>


<blockquote>"The Winter 2010 President’s Message from the [[Canadian Institutes of Health Research]] begins by invoking "the ‘grey tsunami’—the tide of chronic diseases rising from an ageing population which threatens to swamp our health-care system, economy, and quality of life." Similarly, in 2010 the [[Alzheimer Society of Canada]] published a major commissioned report on the projected impact of dementia entitled "Rising Tide." This ominous rhetoric of rising, swamping, tides, and disease—amplified by the authoritative tones of medical and health policy expertise—conceives of population aging as an imminent catastrophe" (Charise, p.3).</blockquote>
<blockquote>"The Winter 2010 President’s Message from the [[Canadian Institutes of Health Research]] begins by invoking "the ‘grey tsunami’—the tide of chronic diseases arising from an aging population which threatens to swamp our health-care system, economy, and quality of life." Similarly, in 2010 the [[Alzheimer Society of Canada]] published a major commissioned report on the projected impact of dementia entitled "Rising Tide." This ominous rhetoric of rising, swamping, tides, and disease—amplified by the authoritative tones of medical and health policy expertise—conceives of population aging as an imminent catastrophe" (Charise, p.3).</blockquote>


In a 2013 editorial in the ''Journal of Gerontological Social Work'' entitled "The Aging Tsunami: Time for a New Metaphor?", Amanda Barusch builds on this objection, by describing the "inaccurate, damaging perceptions" of older age. "The specter of millions of dependent elders sweeping over the land makes us shiver. And this is what fuels the aging tsunami metaphor".<ref name=":0" />
In a 2013 editorial in the ''Journal of Gerontological Social Work'' entitled "The Aging Tsunami: Time for a New Metaphor?", [[Amanda Barusch]] builds on this objection, by describing the "inaccurate, damaging perceptions" of older age. "The specter of millions of dependent elders sweeping over the land makes us shiver. And this is what fuels the aging tsunami metaphor".<ref name=":0" />


In a content analysis (2009) of [[The Economist]]’s digital archive between 1997 and 2008, Ruth Martin, Caroline Williams, and Desmond O’Neill conclude that "There is a noticeable trend to ageism in one of the most influential economic and political magazines in the world."<ref name="auto">{{cite journal | author = | year = 2009 | title = Retrospective Analysis of Attitudes to Ageing in the Economist: Apocalyptic Demography for Opinion Formers | url = | journal = British Medical Journal | volume = 339 | issue = | pages = 1435–37 }}</ref> In place of the silver tsunami's "[[Apocalypse|apocalyptic]]" imagery,<ref>Stephen Katz, Disciplining Old Age: The Formation of Gerontological Knowledge (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1996), 69.</ref> critics have suggested abandoning the metaphor in favour of different, and ideally more neutral, terminology with less overtly ageist connotations.<ref>https://www.npr.org/2014/05/19/313133555/silver-tsunami-and-other-terms-that-can-irk-the-over-65-set</ref> "[[Geriatrics|Geriatricians]] and [[Gerontology|gerontologists]] who want to influence policy makers to improve services for older people will need to engage in a dialogue with journalists in areas other than the biomedical literature."<ref name="auto"/>
In a content analysis (2009) of ''[[The Economist]]''’s digital archive between 1997 and 2008, Ruth Martin, Caroline Williams, and Desmond O’Neill conclude that "There is a noticeable trend to ageism in one of the most influential economic and political magazines in the world."<ref name="auto">{{cite journal | year = 2009 | title = Retrospective Analysis of Attitudes to Ageing in the Economist: Apocalyptic Demography for Opinion Formers | journal = British Medical Journal | volume = 339 | pages = 1435–37 }}</ref> In place of the silver tsunami's "[[Apocalypse|apocalyptic]]" imagery,<ref>Stephen Katz, Disciplining Old Age: The Formation of Gerontological Knowledge (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1996), 69.</ref> critics have suggested abandoning the metaphor in favour of different, and ideally more neutral, terminology with less overtly ageist connotations.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2014/05/19/313133555/silver-tsunami-and-other-terms-that-can-irk-the-over-65-set|title='Silver Tsunami' And Other Terms That Can Irk The Over-65 Set|newspaper=NPR.org}}</ref> "[[Geriatrics|Geriatricians]] and [[Gerontology|gerontologists]] who want to influence policymakers to improve services for older people will need to engage in a dialogue with journalists in areas other than the biomedical literature."<ref name="auto"/>


==References==
==References==
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* Charise, Andrea. "[http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/the-sunday-edition-october-15-2017-1.4353223/stop-dehumanizing-old-people-by-using-the-phrase-grey-tsunami-1.4353251 Stop dehumanizing old people by using the phrase "grey tsunami"]." ''CBC The Sunday Edition with Michael Enright''. October 15, 2017.
* Charise, Andrea. "[http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/the-sunday-edition-october-15-2017-1.4353223/stop-dehumanizing-old-people-by-using-the-phrase-grey-tsunami-1.4353251 Stop dehumanizing old people by using the phrase "grey tsunami"]." ''CBC The Sunday Edition with Michael Enright''. October 15, 2017.


{{DEFAULTSORT:Silver Tsunami, The}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silver tsunami}}
[[Category:Ageing]]
[[Category:Ageing]]
[[Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]

Latest revision as of 00:49, 28 April 2024

Silver tsunami (also known as grey tsunami, gray tsunami, silver wave, gray wave, or grey wave) is a metaphor used to describe population aging; specifically, baby boomers reaching the age of 65 starting in 2011.[1][2] This demographic will include a massive expansion to the number of people living in first world nations over the age of 80 [3][4].The silver tsunami metaphor has been used in popular media and in scholarly literature[5][6][7] to refer to the late-twentieth-century demographic phenomenon of population aging in major media platforms including The Economist,[8] Forbes.com,[9] and multiple news outlets.[10][11] The phrase has also been used to refer more specifically to health and economic implications associated with population aging by major medical publications including The British Medical Journal,[12] New England Journal of Medicine,[13] and professional organizations including American Psychological Association.[14]

According to Google’s Ngram Viewer, variants of the silver tsunami metaphor (for example: age wave, grey hoard, rising tide, grey or gray tsunami)[15] first occurred in reference to population aging in the 1980s.[5]

Controversy

[edit]

Scholars from a range of disciplines including humanities, health professions, and social science have argued that the silver tsunami does not constitute neutral language to describe population aging, calling it "dangerous"[16] and "a nasty metaphor for older adults".[5]

Critics of the silver tsunami phrase (and its variants) have argued that it represents an important example of ageist language. For example, Andrea Charise (2012) writes that the prevalent use of this metaphor in popular and professional media "testifies to the barely conscious figurative language that serves to construct perceptions of an aging population."[17]

"The Winter 2010 President’s Message from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research begins by invoking "the ‘grey tsunami’—the tide of chronic diseases arising from an aging population which threatens to swamp our health-care system, economy, and quality of life." Similarly, in 2010 the Alzheimer Society of Canada published a major commissioned report on the projected impact of dementia entitled "Rising Tide." This ominous rhetoric of rising, swamping, tides, and disease—amplified by the authoritative tones of medical and health policy expertise—conceives of population aging as an imminent catastrophe" (Charise, p.3).

In a 2013 editorial in the Journal of Gerontological Social Work entitled "The Aging Tsunami: Time for a New Metaphor?", Amanda Barusch builds on this objection, by describing the "inaccurate, damaging perceptions" of older age. "The specter of millions of dependent elders sweeping over the land makes us shiver. And this is what fuels the aging tsunami metaphor".[5]

In a content analysis (2009) of The Economist’s digital archive between 1997 and 2008, Ruth Martin, Caroline Williams, and Desmond O’Neill conclude that "There is a noticeable trend to ageism in one of the most influential economic and political magazines in the world."[18] In place of the silver tsunami's "apocalyptic" imagery,[19] critics have suggested abandoning the metaphor in favour of different, and ideally more neutral, terminology with less overtly ageist connotations.[20] "Geriatricians and gerontologists who want to influence policymakers to improve services for older people will need to engage in a dialogue with journalists in areas other than the biomedical literature."[18]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Delafuente, Jeffrey C. (2009-02-19). "The silver tsunami is coming: will pharmacy be swept away with the tide?". American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. 73 (1): 1. doi:10.5688/aj730101. ISSN 1553-6467. PMC 2690864. PMID 19513138.
  2. ^ Prašnikar, Eva; Borišek, Jure; Perdih, Andrej (2021-03-01). "Senescent cells as promising targets to tackle age-related diseases". Ageing Research Reviews. 66: 101251. doi:10.1016/j.arr.2020.101251. ISSN 1568-1637. PMID 33385543. S2CID 229717629.
  3. ^ Eurostat (European Commission) (2019). Ageing Europe: looking at the lives of older people in the EU : 2019 edition. LU: Publications Office of the European Union. doi:10.2785/811048. ISBN 978-92-76-09815-7.
  4. ^ Delafuente, Jeffrey C. (2009-02-19). "The Silver Tsunami is Coming: Will Pharmacy Be Swept Away with the Tide?". American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. 73 (1): 1. doi:10.5688/aj730101. ISSN 0002-9459. PMC 2690864. PMID 19513138.
  5. ^ a b c d Barusch, Amanda (2013). "The Aging Tsunami: Time for a New Metaphor?". Journal of Gerontological Social Work. 56 (3): 181–184. doi:10.1080/01634372.2013.787348. PMID 23548140. S2CID 41067427.
  6. ^ Jasper, Mila (14 June 2019). "A silver wave? California braces for elderly boom that could overburden state". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Aging America forecasts a 'gray wave' for U.S.| Opinion". The Tennessean.
  8. ^ "The silver tsunami". The Economist. 2010-02-04. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  9. ^ "A Silver Tsunami Invades The Health Of Nations". Forbes.com. 2015-08-11. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  10. ^ "Our hospitals are not ready for the grey tsunami". The Globe and Mail.
  11. ^ "Preparing for the 'grey tsunami': Editorial". Thestar.com. 30 September 2015.
  12. ^ Bob Roehr (2012-07-10). "US geriatric mental health workforce needs to expand, says Institute of Medicine". BMJ. 345: e4686. doi:10.1136/bmj.e4686. PMID 22782905. S2CID 34744518. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  13. ^ Bartels SJ, Naslund JA (2013). "The Underside of the Silver Tsunami — Older Adults and Mental Health Care". The New England Journal of Medicine. 368 (6): 493–6. doi:10.1056/nejmp1211456. PMID 23343039.
  14. ^ "Preparing for the 'silver tsunami'". Apa.org. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  15. ^ "Let the reader think of the burden': Old Age and the Crisis of Capacity" (PDF). Occasion: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities. 4: 1–16. 2012.
  16. ^ "Gray Tsunami: A Dangerous Metaphor in Aging Discourse? | Annals of Long Term Care". Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  17. ^ Andrea Charise. ""Let the Reader Think of the Burden": Old Age and the Crisis of Capacity" (PDF). Arcade.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  18. ^ a b "Retrospective Analysis of Attitudes to Ageing in the Economist: Apocalyptic Demography for Opinion Formers". British Medical Journal. 339: 1435–37. 2009.
  19. ^ Stephen Katz, Disciplining Old Age: The Formation of Gerontological Knowledge (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1996), 69.
  20. ^ "'Silver Tsunami' And Other Terms That Can Irk The Over-65 Set". NPR.org.
[edit]
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