Active longevity: opportunities, life attitudes and social practices of elderly

The aim of the research is to identify the contradictions between the views on active longevity contained in the state strategies and perceptions of older citizens about its essence, conditions of its achievement and actual social practices. The information base is the data of the sociological survey of elderly citizens of the Sverdlovsk Oblast over 60 years old, conducted in 2023. We develop ideas about the role of life, its conditionality by specific perceptions and motives of individuals, their needs. We have established that active longevity for Ural residents is primarily associated with the preservation of health. Elderly people are aware of the importance of different activity types, including physical one, which, unfortunately, is poorly implemented in the real practice of their life. Important aspects of active longevity include care for close people and family, involvement in the care of children and grandchildren. The family factor determines the level of psychological comfort and often the level of material well-being. The respondents name the following social roles as most typical: “mentor”, “parent”, “friend”, “enthusiastic”. We have identified the most characteristic mental states for the elderly: weakening of perception, memory and attention, focus on health, reduction of desires and interests, anxiety, depression. We have noted a weak vision of life perspective, as evidenced by shallow periods of time planning. Among the preferred types of activity are activities “for the soul” and “for the body”. To implement real practices of active longevity, the elderly people mostly use their own money. The research results have revealed some age and gender characteristics of views on active longevity, as well as features associated with age, income level, living conditions, and employment. The proposed methodological approach and tools allow planning future research on the social practices of elderly Russians in the sphere of leisure and physical culture; assessing the state and prospects of development of state policy of active longevity in different regions of the Russian Federation.