Third agers in India: empirical evidence from longitudinal aging study in India (LASI), 2017-2018

Abstract

Given that the ontological origins of the Third Age lie in the cultural logics of social class, consumer society and “habitus,” a majority of its gerontological examination is qualitative in nature. We utilize the recently released Longitudinal Aging Study in India (2017–2018) and harness the time-use module to offer an empirical portrait of Third Agers in India. Considering that the aging scholarship in India has been often articulated in the empirical language of dependency, care regimes, and (economic) insecurity, we believe this examination allows us to shift the gerontological gaze from a risk perspective to one that is positive and affirmative. Following an exploratory factor analysis and nested linear regression, we corroborate the emergence of a “silver market” where educated, urban, affluent, and professionally qualified older Indians are the ones who are more likely to engage in active leisure pursuits. Noteworthy is the combined effects of wealth and professional education in determining who is ultimately able to “purchase” leisure in a highly segmented emerging senior market. In all, we conclude by discussing how these findings upend our cultural imagination around growing old in contemporary India.