Youth Is No Longer the Holy Grail as Gen X and Millennials Chase 100-Year Lifestyle

The rules of aging are being rewritten. According to new global research from Havas Health, 77% of Prosumers think society is too focused on youth, up from 53% in 2021. It’s one of the many signals that point to a profound cultural shift in how people think about age itself, with consumers increasingly defining age through vitality, independence, resilience, and quality of life rather than the number of years they’ve lived.

The findings are featured in Superaging, a new global report from Havas Health Network exploring how science, technology, culture, and consumer behavior are reshaping what it means to grow older. The report argues we’re entering a new “Superaging Era,” one in which people are no longer passively aging but taking control of how they age. In this new paradigm, longevity is no longer simply a healthcare issue; it has become a consumer, cultural, and economic force reshaping industries, expectations, and everyday life.

The shift is already fueling a longevity economy estimated at $33 trillion globally, creating opportunities across industries ranging from food, fitness, beauty, and travel to housing, technology, retail, entertainment, and financial services.

“The Superaging Era represents a cultural and economic shift as big as AI,” said Eric Weisberg, global chief creative officer, Havas Health Network. “As people take a more active role in how they age, longevity is moving beyond healthcare to influence the products they buy, the places they live, the experiences they seek, and the brands they choose. Every industry will need to rethink how it helps people live better, longer.”

Building on a 2021 survey of 12,000 global consumers, Havas identified a group of influential early adopters, called Prosumers, whose attitudes foreshadow broader trends. The company revisited the topic in 2026 to see how attitudes have shifted.

The report reveals a growing gap between mainstream consumers and Prosumers. Among this trendsetting group, 55% say they are actively trying to slow aging. They are significantly more likely to embrace health technologies, actively manage their aging journeys, and prioritise extending quality of life, offering a preview of where all consumer expectations are headed next.

Additional findings include:

• Aging optimisation goes mainstream: 1 in 3 consumers are actively taking steps to combat aging, rising to over half of Prosumers, with Millennials as the age group leading the charge.
• Gen z worries more about aging than Boomers: More than half (53%) of gen z rank illness or pain among their top aging concerns, higher than Boomers at 45%.
• Longevity planning is already mainstream: 83% of consumers say they are actively planning for a longer life in at least one way, rising to 95% among Prosumers.
• Youth obsession backlash is cross-generational: In 2021, over-55s were far more likely than 18–34s to say society over-prioritised youth (60% vs. 53%); by 2026, that gap disappears, with gen z and gen x converging at 54%—signaling a shared, cross-generational pushback.
• Brands need to retire youth-obsession playbook: 63% of Prosumers want less focus on youth vs. 50% of mainstream consumers—a widening gap since 2021 that shows forward-looking audiences are leading the push for more age-inclusive representation and storytelling.

“Longevity won’t be driven by a single breakthrough, product, or technology, but by an ecosystem spanning scientific innovation, cultural change, environmental design, and active consumer participation,” added Eric. “The brands that lead the Superaging Era will be the ones that stop celebrating youth and start using creativity, innovation and experiences to enhance the 100-year lifestyle.”

Superaging is available for download here.