Humans have been fascinated with overcoming death for thousands of years, but a new study finds most modern-day Americans are not interested in extending their lives.
Scientists at the University of Texas (UT) surveyed more than 900 people in the US and only 33 percent said they would take an immortality pill.
Conversely, 42 percent of respondents declined the offer and 25 percent said they were unsure.
Those who were surveyed were separated into three groups based on age: young adults between the ages of 18 and 29; senior citizens with an average age of 72; and an older group with an average age of 88.
All three groups answered similarly, with the majority saying ‘no’ to living forever, but differences appeared when the youngest and oldest groups were asked what age they would like to be frozen at – the youngest said 23 and the oldest age averaged in at 42.
Among young adults, 34 percent said yes, 40 percent said no and 26 percent were unsure.
In the younger seniors groups, 32 percent said yes, 43 percent said no and 25 percent were unsure.
And among the group of older seniors, 24 percent said yes, 59 percent said no and 17 percent stated they were unsure.
‘Young adults indicated that they would wish to live forever as young adults, whereas older adults indicated that they would like to live forever as middle-aged adults,’ the researchers wrote in the study published in the Journal of Aging Studies.
This suggests that people are more open to immortality if they can choose an age that is close to their current one.
However, what was even more surprising to researchers was that men had a higher level of willingness to use the life extension treatment than women.
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Scientists at the University of Texas (UT) surveyed more than 900 people in the US and only 33 percent said they would take an immortality pill. Conversely, 42 percent of respondents declined the offer and 25 percent said they were unsure
The notion may sound interesting, due to the fact that women tend to live longer than men: the average age life expectancy of US women is 81.1 years and is 76.1 years.
Differences were also found when researchers asked more detailed questions, such as freezing yourself at a certain age.
‘Younger-old and older-old adults indicated that they would prefer to live permanently at an older age than younger adults,’ according to the study.
The average life expectancy in the US is 78.7 years, according to a 2021 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a dramatic increase from 100 years ago when it was only 53.
However, what was even more surprising to researchers was that men had a higher level of willingness to use the life extension treatment than women
The increase is due to improvements in sanitation, housing, education and technological advances that better the lives of Americans over past generations.
These developments have also led scientists and companies to design innovations that could extend our lives – but the study from UT suggests these groups may be wasting their time.
The survey asked 593 young adults, 272 younger-old adults and 46 older-old adults whether they would take a hypothetical life extension treatment, in the form of a pill, that had been developed by a doctor.
‘We wanted the responders to focus on the outcome of taking the pill,’ the authors wrote, ‘rather than weighing any potential downsides of treatment.’
‘If a life extension treatment were to become available that effectively stopped aging, young adults may be likely to use such a treatment to avoid reaching the ages at which older cohorts say they would prefer to live forever.’
