Laura Carstensen: Older people are happier

Prevodilac: Tatjana Jevdjic Lektor: Nela Kacmarcik

People are living longer and societies are getting grayer.

Ljudi žive duže

i društva postaju sve više seda.

You hear about it all the time.

Slušate o tome sve vreme.

You read about it in your newspapers.

Čitate o tome u novinama.

You hear about it on your television sets.

Slušate o tome na televiziji.

Sometimes, I'm concerned

Ponekad sam zabrinuta,

that we hear about it so much that we've come to accept longer lives

toliko slušamo o tome

da smo počeli prihvatati duže živote

with a kind of a complacency, even ease.

s dozom samozadovoljstva,

čak spokojstva.

But make no mistake, longer lives can --

Da ne bude zabune,

duži životi mogu

and, I believe, will improve quality of life at all ages.

i ja verujem da hoće

poboljšati kvalitet života

u svim životnim dobima.

Now to put this in perspective, let me just zoom out for a minute.

Da bismo ovo razmotrili,

dozvolite mi da prikažem širi kontekst.

More years were added to average life expectancy in the 20th century

Za više godina je produženo

trajanje prosečnog života

u 20. veku,

than all years added across all prior millennia

nego tokom svih

prethodnih milenijuma

of human evolution combined.

ljudske evolucije.

In the blink of an eye,

U treptaju oka

we nearly doubled the length of time that we're living.

gotovo smo udvostručili trajanje

životnog veka.

So if you ever feel like you don't have this aging thing quite pegged,

Pa ako vam se čini da niste baš shvatili sve ovo u vezi sa starenjem,

don't kick yourself.

nemojte se zabrinjavati.

It's brand new.

To je sasvim nova stvar.

And because fertility rates fell across that very same period

Stope plodnosti su padale

istovremeno sa

that life expectancy was going up,

produživanjem prosečnog životnog veka.

that pyramid that has always represented the distribution of age in the population,

Ta piramida

koja je uvek predstavljala starosnu strukturu populacije,

with many young ones at the bottom winnowed to a tiny peak of older people

sa mnogo mladih na dnu

i malim brojem starijih ljudi na njenom vrhu

who make it and survive to old age,

koji su uspeli i preživeli do starosti,

is being reshaped into a rectangle.

promenila je oblik

u pravougaonik.

And now, if you're the kind of person

Ako spadate u one

who can get chills from population statistics,

koji se ježe od statistika populacije,

(Laughter)

these are the ones that should do it.

ovo su podaci koji bi trebalo da vas naježe.

Because what that means

Zato što to znači

is that for the first time in the history of the species,

da po prvi put u istoriji čovečanstva,

the majority of babies born in the developed world

većina dece rođene

u razvijenom svetu,

are having the opportunity to grow old.

ima priliku

da ostari.

How did this happen?

Kako se to dogodilo?

Well, we're no genetically hardier than our ancestors were 10,000 years ago.

Nismo genetički izdržljiviji od naših predaka

pre 10.000 godina.

This increase in life expectancy is the remarkable product of culture --

Ovo produženje životnog veka

je neverovatan proizvod kulture -

the crucible that holds science and technology

recept sadrži

nauku i tehnologiju,

and wide-scale changes in behavior that improve health and well-being.

i rasprostranjene promene u ponašanju

koje su poboljšale zdravlje i blagostanje.

Through cultural changes, our ancestors largely eliminated early death

Kroz kulturne promene,

naši preci su

u velikoj meri eliminisali ranu smrt,

so that people can now live out their full lives.

te ljudi sada mogu uživati u životu do kraja.

Now there are problems associated with aging --

Postoje problemi povezani sa starenjem -

diseases, poverty, loss of social status.

bolesti, siromaštvo, gubitak društvenog statusa.

It's hardly time to rest on our laurels.

Nije baš vreme za ležanje na lovorikama.

But the more we learn about aging,

Ipak, što više saznajemo o starenju,

the clearer it becomes that a sweeping downward course

postaje sve jasnije

da je kretanje nizbrdo

is grossly inaccurate.

vrlo netačan opis.

Aging brings some rather remarkable improvements --

Starenje donosi neka izvanredna poboljšanja -

increased knowledge, expertise --

više znanja, stručnost -

and emotional aspects of life improve.

i emocionalni aspekti života se poboljšavaju.

That's right, older people are happy.

Upravo tako,

stariji ljudi su srećni.

They're happier than middle-aged people, and younger people, certainly.

Srećniji su od sredovečnih ljudi,

a sigurno i od mladih.

(Laughter)

Study after study is coming to the same conclusion.

Studija za studijom

dolazi do istog zaključka.

The CDC recently conducted a survey

Centar za kontrolu bolesti je nedavno sproveo anketu

where they asked respondents simply to tell them

u kojoj su pitali ispitanike

da li su doživeli značajnu psihološku uznemirenost

whether they experienced significant psychological distress

in the previous week.

u protekloj nedelji.

And fewer older people answered affirmatively to that question

Potvrdno je odgovorilo manje starijih ljudi

than middle-aged people, and younger people as well.

nego sredovečnih ispitanika,

i mladih ljudi.

And a recent Gallup poll asked participants

Nedavna Galupova anketa

je pitala učesnike

how much stress and worry and anger they had experienced the previous day.

koliko su stresa, brige i ljutnje

doživeli u proteklom danu.

And stress, worry, anger

Stres, briga i ljutnja,

all decrease with age.

sve to opada sa godinama.

Now social scientists call this the paradox of aging.

Društveni naučnici ovo nazivaju paradoksom starenja.

I mean, after all, aging is not a piece of cake.

Ipak, ostariti nije lako.

So we've asked all sorts of questions to see if we could undo this finding.

Postavljali smo razna pitanja

da bismo videli možemo li poništiti ovo saznanje.

We've asked whether it may be that the current generations of older people

Pitali smo da li je moguće

da su trenutne generacije starijih

are and always have been the greatest generations.

sada i ranije bile

najbolje generacije.

That is that younger people today may not typically experience

Odnosno, da mlađi ljudi danas

možda neće osetiti takva poboljšanja

these improvements as they grow older.

kad oni budu starili.

We've asked,

Pitali smo da li možda

well, maybe older people are just trying to put a positive spin

stariji ljudi samo pokušavaju pozitivnije predstaviti

on an otherwise depressing existence.

egzistenciju koja je inače deprimirajuća.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But the more we've tried to disavow this finding,

Što smo više pokušavali da poništimo ovo saznanje,

the more evidence we find to support it.

nalazili smo sve više dokaza

koji ga potvrđuju.

Years ago, my colleagues and I embarked on a study

Pre mnogo godina, sa kolegama sam pokrenula istraživanje

where we followed the same group of people over a 10-year period.

u kome smo pratili istu grupu ljudi tokom 10 godina.

Originally, the sample was aged 18 to 94.

Originalni uzorak je bio između 18 i 94 godine.

And we studied whether and how their emotional experiences changed

Proučavali smo, da li se i kako njihova emotivna iskustva menjanju

as they grew older.

u periodu starenja.

Our participants would carry electronic pagers

Naši učesnici su nosili elektronske pejdžere

for a week at a time,

nedelju dana.

and we'd page them throughout the day and evenings at random times.

Mi bismo im se nasumice javljali tokom dana i večeri.

And every time we paged them,

Svaki put kad bismo im se javili

we'd ask them to answer several questions --

pitali bismo ih nekoliko pitanja -

"On a one to seven scale, how happy are you right now?"

Na skali od jedan do sedam, koliko ste trenutno srećni?

"How sad are you right now?"

Koliko ste trenutno tužni?

"How frustrated are you right now?" --

Koliko ste trenutno frustrirani? -

so that we could get a sense of the kinds of emotions and feelings they were having

kako bismo mogli dobiti osećaj

o vrsti emocija i osećanja koje su imali

in their day-to-day lives.

u njihovoj svakodnevici.

And using this intense study of individuals,

Koristeći ovo intenzivno istraživanje

na pojedincima,

we find that it's not one particular generation

otkrili smo da nije samo jedna generacija

that's doing better than the others,

ta kojoj ide bolje od ostalih,

but the same individuals over time

već su isti pojedinci tokom vremena postepeno

come to report relatively greater positive experience.

prijavljivali relativno veće

pozitivno iskustvo.

Now you see this slight downturn at very advanced ages.

Vidite ovaj blagi pad

u poodmaklim godinama.

And there is a slight downturn.

Postoji blagi pad.

But at no point does it return to the levels we see in early adulthood.

Ali ni u jednom momentu se ne vraća

na nivo koji vidimo

u ranoj zrelosti.

Now it's really too simplistic to say that older people are "happy."

Bilo bi suviše pojednostavljeno

reći da su stariji ljudi "srećni."

In our study, they are more positive.

Oni su u našem istraživanju pozitivniji,

But they're also more likely than younger people

ali su i skloniji nego mlađe osobe

to experience mixed emotions --

da dožive pomešane emocije -

sadness at the same time you experience happiness;

tugu istovremeno kad doživljavate sreću;

you know, that tear in the eye when you're smiling at a friend.

znate, suza u oku

kad se smešite prijatelju.

And other research has shown that older people seem to engage with sadness

Drugo istraživanje je pokazalo

da se stariji ljudi nose sa tugom

more comfortably.

komotnije.

They're more accepting of sadness than younger people are.

Lakše prihvataju tugu nego mlađi ljudi.

And we suspect that this may help to explain

Pretpostavljamo da bi ovo moglo pomoći objašnjenju

why older people are better than younger people

zašto stariji ljudi bolje od mlađih ljudi

at solving hotly charged emotional conflicts and debates.

rešavaju žustre emotivne konflikte i rasprave.

Older people can view injustice with compassion,

Stariji ljudi mogu sagledati nepravdu

sa saosećanjem,

but not despair.

ali ne i očajanjem.

And all things being equal,

Ako je sve ostalo jednako,

older people direct their cognitive resources, like attention and memory,

stariji ljudi usmeravaju svoje kognitivne resurse,

poput pažnje i pamćenja,

to positive information more than negative.

rađe prema pozitivnoj informaciji nego negativnoj.

If we show older, middle-aged, younger people images,

Ako pokažemo starijim, mlađim i sredovečnim ljudima slike,

like the ones you see on the screen,

kao ove koje vidite na ekranu

and we later ask them to recall all the images that they can,

i kasnije ih pitamo

da se prisete svih slika koje mogu,

older people, but not younger people,

stariji ljudi, za razliku od mlađih,

remember more positive images than negative images.

pamte više pozitivnih slika

nego negativnih.

We've asked older and younger people to view faces in laboratory studies,

Upitali smo starije i mlađe ljude

da pogledaju lica u laboratorijskim istraživanjima,

some frowning, some smiling.

neka koja se mršte, a neka koja se smeju.

Older people look toward the smiling faces and away from the frowning, angry faces.

Stariji ljudi gledaju prema nasmešenim licima

i sklanjaju pogled sa namrštenih, ljutih lica.

In day-to-day life, this translates into greater enjoyment and satisfaction.

U svakodnevnom životu,

ovo se odražava kroz više radosti

i zadovoljstva.

But as social scientists, we continue to ask about possible alternatives.

Kao društveni naučnici, nastavljamo da ispitujemo

moguće alternative.

We've said, well, maybe older people report more positive emotions

Rekli smo, stariji ljudi možda

govore o više pozitivnih emocija

because they're cognitively impaired.

zato što su kognitivno oštećeni.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

We've said, could it be

Rekli smo, da nisu moža

that positive emotions are simply easier to process than negative emotions,

te pozitivne emocije samo jednostavnije za obradu nego negativne emocije,

and so you switch to the positive emotions?

pa se prebacujete na pozitivne emocije?

Maybe our neural centers in our brain

Možda su nervni centri u našem mozgu

are degraded such that we're unable to process negative emotions anymore.

oštećeni tako

da više ne možemo da obrađujemo negativne emocije.

But that's not the case.

To ipak nije u pitanju.

The most mentally sharp older adults

Većina mentalno jakih starijih osoba

are the ones who show this positivity effect the most.

su oni koji najčešće pokazuju ovaj efekat pozitivnosti.

And under conditions where it really matters,

U uslovima gde je to zaista važno,

older people do process the negative information

stariji ljudi obrađuju negativnu informaciju

just as well as the positive information.

podjednako dobro kao i pozitivnu informaciju.

So how can this be?

Kako je to moguće?

Well, in our research,

U našem istraživanju,

we've found that these changes are grounded fundamentally

otkrili smo da su te promene

bitno utemeljene

in the uniquely human ability to monitor time --

u jedinstvenoj ljudskoj sposobnosti da posmatra vreme -

not just clock time and calendar time, but lifetime.

ne samo kao vreme na satu i kalendaru,

već kao vreme života.

And if there's a paradox of aging,

I ako postoji paradoks starenja,

it's that recognizing that we won't live forever

to je da saznanje da nećemo živeti zauvek

changes our perspective on life in positive ways.

menja naš pogled na svet

u pozitivnom smislu.

When time horizons are long and nebulous, as they typically are in youth,

Kad su vremenski okviri dugi i nejasni,

kao što obično i jesu u mladosti,

people are constantly preparing,

ljudi se stalno pripremaju,

trying to soak up all the information they possibly can,

pokušavaju da upiju sve informacije koje mogu

taking risks, exploring.

rizikuju, istražuju.

We might spend time with people we don't even like

Možemo provoditi vreme sa ljudima koji nam se ni ne sviđaju,

because it's somehow interesting.

jer je to na neki način zanimljivo.

We might learn something unexpected.

Možemo naučiti nešto neočekivano.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

We go on blind dates.

Idemo na sastanke na slepo.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

You know, after all,

Znate, na kraju krajeva,

if it doesn't work out, there's always tomorrow.

ako ne uspe, uvek postoji sutra.

People over 50 don't go on blind dates.

Ljudi iznad 50.

ne idu na sastanke ne slepo.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

As we age, our time horizons grow shorter and our goals change.

Kako starimo,

naši vremenski okviri se smanjuju

i naši ciljevi se menjaju.

When we recognize that we don't have all the time in the world,

Kad uvidimo da nemamo sve vreme sveta,

we see our priorities most clearly.

jasnije vidimo svoje prioritete.

We take less notice of trivial matters.

Manje marimo za trivijalne stvari.

We savor life.

Uživamo u životu.

We're more appreciative,

Zahvalniji smo,

more open to reconciliation.

pomirljiviji.

We invest in more emotionally important parts of life,

Ulažemo u emotivno važnije delove života,

and life gets better,

i život postaje bolji,

so we're happier day-to-day.

pa smo iz dana u dan srećniji.

But that same shift in perspective

Ali ta ista promena perspektive

leads us to have less tolerance than ever for injustice.

čini nas manje tolerantnim nego ikad

prema nepravdi.

By 2015,

Do 2015.

there will be more people in the United States

u SAD-u će biti više ljudi

over the age of 60 than under 15.

koji su stariji od 60 godina,

nego onih ispod 15 godina.

What will happen to societies that are top-heavy with older people?

Šta će se dogoditi sa društvima

koja su prepuna starijih ljudi?

The numbers won't determine the outcome.

Brojevi neće odrediti ishod.

Culture will.

Kultura hoće.

If we invest in science and technology

Ako uložimo u nauku i tehnologiju,

and find solutions for the real problems that older people face

te pronađemo rešenja za stvarne probleme

sa kojima se stariji ljudi suočavaju

and we capitalize on the very real strengths of older people,

i usredsredimo se

na stvarne snage

starijih ljudi,

then added years of life can dramatically improve quality of life at all ages.

onda dodate godine života

mogu dramatično poboljšati kvalitet života

za sva životna doba.

Societies with millions of talented, emotionally stable citizens

Društva sa milionima

talentovanih, emotivno stabilnih građana

who are healthier and better educated than any generations before them,

koji su zdraviji i školovaniji

od bilo koje generacije pre njih,

armed with knowledge about the practical matters of life

koji su potkovani znanjem

o praktičnim stvarima života

and motivated to solve the big issues

i motivisani

da reše velike stvari,

can be better societies than we have ever known.

mogu biti bolja društva

nego ikada.

My father, who is 92, likes to say,

Moj otac, koji ima 92 godine voli da kaže:

"Let's stop talking only about how to save the old folks

"Prestanimo pričati samo

o tome kako spasiti starce

and start talking about how to get them to save us all."

i počnimo da pričamo o tome

kako da oni spasu sve nas."

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)