Tuesday, June 3, 2025
Longevity – The New Modern Obsession
Trends Agency
Study "Longevity Unlocked" – NellyRodi, June 2025
What if longevity became our new horizon?
As part of our new NellyRodi Beauty study entitled "Longevity Unlocked," we conducted 56 interviews with French women under the age of 30 to understand their definition of and relationship to longevity (over the course of one week, May 2025).
We are living in a time when medical advancements are pushing the boundaries of human life further every year. Fueled by these breakthroughs, the younger generation is embracing a bold new ambition: to extend life expectancy while maintaining vitality and freedom at every stage. Nine out of ten young people now place longevity as a top priority—a deep aspiration driven by four major interlinked and reinforcing dynamics.
1. A New Philosophy of Life, Above All
For 68% of respondents, longevity is not a distant concept—it’s a guiding principle that influences their dietary, career, and emotional choices. It’s experienced as an art of balancing body, mind, and relationships in the pursuit of autonomy. “It’s super important to take care of both your inner and outer self to live as long as possible,” shared one participant. In other words, it’s not just about living long, but living in alignment: enjoyable exercise, conscious nutrition, revitalizing social circles... Every daily habit becomes a stepping stone on the path to sustainable vitality, and 100% of the young women interviewed said they feel personally concerned with the issue of longevity.
For 68% of respondents, longevity is not a distant concept—it’s a guiding principle that influences their dietary, career, and emotional choices. It’s experienced as an art of balancing body, mind, and relationships in the pursuit of autonomy. “It’s super important to take care of both your inner and outer self to live as long as possible,” shared one participant. In other words, it’s not just about living long, but living in alignment: enjoyable exercise, conscious nutrition, revitalizing social circles... Every daily habit becomes a stepping stone on the path to sustainable vitality, and 100% of the young women interviewed said they feel personally concerned with the issue of longevity.
2. Fear of Aging Is Mainly About Physical Decline
Beneath the ideal lies anxiety: 55% of respondents admitted feeling worried or fearful about aging, a figure that jumps to 77% among those aged 26–30. This obsession is primarily physical—70% of cited reasons relate to fear of bodily deterioration, dependency, or loss of appearance. “I’m afraid of aging—I see it as a kind of decline,” admitted one; “Aging is a negative word: wrinkles, sadness,” noted another. This reveals a poignant paradox: accepting the passage of time while trying desperately to resist it.
Beneath the ideal lies anxiety: 55% of respondents admitted feeling worried or fearful about aging, a figure that jumps to 77% among those aged 26–30. This obsession is primarily physical—70% of cited reasons relate to fear of bodily deterioration, dependency, or loss of appearance. “I’m afraid of aging—I see it as a kind of decline,” admitted one; “Aging is a negative word: wrinkles, sadness,” noted another. This reveals a poignant paradox: accepting the passage of time while trying desperately to resist it.
3. Prevention as a Form of Control
In response to this anxiety, the approach is near-military: meticulously planned routines, tracking apps, mood journals, and virtual coaches. Every participant reports engaging in at least one preventive action; 94% say they are continuously working to optimize their longevity. Hydration, SPF, micronutrition, HIIT, deep sleep—the body becomes a constant engineering project. “I work out, I eat well, I apply cream morning and night,” summarized one respondent. Self-mastery becomes a ritual, and every biometric improvement serves as proof that time can—at least a little—be negotiated.
In response to this anxiety, the approach is near-military: meticulously planned routines, tracking apps, mood journals, and virtual coaches. Every participant reports engaging in at least one preventive action; 94% say they are continuously working to optimize their longevity. Hydration, SPF, micronutrition, HIIT, deep sleep—the body becomes a constant engineering project. “I work out, I eat well, I apply cream morning and night,” summarized one respondent. Self-mastery becomes a ritual, and every biometric improvement serves as proof that time can—at least a little—be negotiated.
4. The Amplifying Power of Social Media
In the filtered reflections of Instagram and TikTok, aging has no place: smoothing filters, anti-aging challenges, and ever-present influencers reinforce the pressure to “stay young even at 60.” “Influencers, without a doubt,” one participant said when asked who fuels the anti-aging obsession. Another admitted to “following an account that gives lots of product tips and routines.” This constant staging of eternal youth establishes a new norm of total control: avoiding wrinkles, delaying gray hairs—aging is no longer inevitable, but something to optimize.
In the filtered reflections of Instagram and TikTok, aging has no place: smoothing filters, anti-aging challenges, and ever-present influencers reinforce the pressure to “stay young even at 60.” “Influencers, without a doubt,” one participant said when asked who fuels the anti-aging obsession. Another admitted to “following an account that gives lots of product tips and routines.” This constant staging of eternal youth establishes a new norm of total control: avoiding wrinkles, delaying gray hairs—aging is no longer inevitable, but something to optimize.
Forecasting specialist NellyRodi is an expert strategic consulting agency for the creative industries. We help businesses, their deciders and their teams – from defining their brand strategy all the way to operational deployment.
We can meet clients’ objectives for results and use our creativity, engagement and conviction to help brands. In this process we apply rigorous, finely-tuned methods, putting our consumer expertise and passion for the creative industries to work enhancing brands’ desirability.