Old people

[Martin Bishop]

This is something I've been thinking about since Big Brother's care home countdown task. Countdown contestants seem to be getting younger. I haven't noticed too many old people on the show recently. By "old people" I mean 60+ retirees. I came up against three such ladies on my octorun, but now the show seems to mostly run on under 30s, with the occasional middle aged man thrown in.

I may just be imagining this; I have no research or data to back me up. If I'm right that would mean there are either fewer old people auditioning or more young people, which could in turn imply a change in the audience demographics.

Has anyone else noticed this? Or has anyone who has auditioned recently spotted any age trend?

[Douglas Wilson]

Again no stats here to back this up, but I think there are still a fair few old people but you probably don't notice them so much because we haven't had any good quality ones recently so they only stay for a game or two.

[Matthew Green]

I was hoping this would be a debate about the merits of old people. I despise them, they cause global warming and do nothing else of note. Except clutter post offices because they're so lonely.

[Alec Rivers]

Old people – you can't beat 'em.



Pity.

[Ian Fitzpatrick]

I was hoping this would be a debate about the merits of old people. I despise them, they cause global warming and do nothing else of note. Except clutter post offices because they're so lonely.

Well, if I could find a Post Office, I might hang around, but not because I'm lonely.

[Lesley Hines]

they cause global warming and do nothing else of note

I'm wondering if I should bother.

Actually, go on then, I will

Firstly, "old people" tend not to live the throwaway lifestyles we younger people enjoy, indulge far less in the massive consumerism young people do to keep up with trends and facilitate our lives because we are all so hoodwinked by a media so obsessed with making money from us that we lose all common sense. "Old people" die from hypothermia because their heating isn't turned up to extremes, and because they've lived in an age where they've learned not to get into debt, although come to that staying warm and alive's a great reason to get into debt rather than because "Bright (bloody) House" seem to think you should have a 50" widescreen TV when no other sod will lend you money. "Old people" don't need to do anything else of note because (and this seems to be a newsflash!) they've already done it. They've worked, paid their taxes, seen history being made, contributed to the many things we use today that we take for granted, etc. So unless on possibly some philosophical stance you actually believe the world only came into existence 5 minutes ago and fossils are just a joke palaeontologists haven't got yet, that's possibly not the most constructive opinion.

Be warned, there's more where that came from...


Edit: to go back to the topic...
I notice quite a few people on there who are of the middle aged+ type bracket. I think that the internet contributes a bit, but owing to the time of day it's on it was always going to have a core viewing groups of people who are in at that time; namely students, retirees, the unemployed, domestic engineers ( ) and so on.

[Ben Hunter]

Maybe it's because you're getting older and there are less people who you'd assign as being old people.

[Lesley Hines]

That's true. There's me, Patrick Moore, Methuselah, God..., that's about it.

[Chris Corby]

As an old person I would just like to say that












(hang on, I've forgotton what I was going to say - back later)

[David Williams]

As a young person I would just like to say that









(sorry, the ADHD must have kicked in)

[Marc Meakin]

That.

[Martin Smith]

A lot of 70 year olds will have gone on when they were 42 though - most contestants probably go on after 2/3 years of regular viewing, which most older people have already had from a show that's been running 28 years. I think the trend towards serious study, serious analysis of games and online play have taken things away from the masses a little - the older contestants don't seem to take it as seriously.

[John Bosley]

A lot of old gimmers are boring old farts and a lot of young people are mindless twits but, come on, are we not generalising a bit too much.
I am 72 so I am a bit past it but I do make myself remember that, at the end of day (oldie's cliche), Countdown is a game that should be taken seriously up to a point.

[Kirk Bevins]

Countdown is a game that should be taken seriously up to a point.

This is arguable. Some people don't take it seriously at all, after all it is just a parlour game. Other take it seriously....but not up to a point, far beyond that point. I think I fall into this latter bracket.

[Martin Bishop]

A lot of 70 year olds will have gone on when they were 42 though - most contestants probably go on after 2/3 years of regular viewing, which most older people have already had from a show that's been running 28 years. I think the trend towards serious study, serious analysis of games and online play have taken things away from the masses a little - the older contestants don't seem to take it as seriously.

You're assuming that 70 year olds have been watching every day for 28 years, when I think a lot of people don't watch the show until they've retired.

I still think there's fewer older people on the show now, but it may be naive of me to link it to the numbers auditioning or watching the show. It could just be a matter of who Damian and co want on the programme.