Doorbell cameras have seen everything: ghosts, late-night dogs and even kind UPS couriers who went out of their way to say something nice. What they don't see often is elderly delivery drivers, who should be home, enjoying their hard-earned retirement and tapioca.
When 21-year-old TikTok user anabellegracestephens ordered her food, the last thing she'd expect was a humble senior-aged citizen with a paper bag in hand. Unable to believe what she'd witnessed, Anabelle shared the recording with her followers — as of today, it has accumulated almost 10 million views with many concerned users debating if we should be okay with the economy which requires the elderly to work.
A video of a senior DoorDash driver went viral after he was recorded delivering food to a 21-year-old TikTok user
Image credits: anabellegracestephens
Image credits: anabellegracestephens
Moved by this sight, Anabelle shared her doorbell camera's recording with her followers
Image credits: anabellegracestephens
Image credits: anabellegracestephens
Unbeknownst to the driver, the video of him was going viral
Believe it or not, seeing a mature-aged person in a uniform or behind the counter past their retirement age is not so uncommon: in the last year alone, almost a million US citizens 75 and over were in the workforce. According to a recent study by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2026, more than 1 in 10 workers will be older than 75, which is not far off from the current situation in Japan, the country with the oldest workforce on the planet, where senior citizens account for 13% of the entire labor workforce.
Despite how grim this may sound, Nicole Maestas, a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), who examined how the aging population might affect economic growth, calms us down. It's a trend that's been on the rise long before, she told Bored Panda.
"Employment rates among older workers have been rising since the mid-1990s. It is possible we will see more older people in the workforce in the future. But it depends on the types of jobs that employers offer."
Wanting to thank him for the service, Anabelle reached out to the company where the delivery driver worked
Image credits: anabellegracestephens
Persistence prevailed and Anabelle was able to find out who the elderly driver is
Image credits: anabellegracestephens
Learning about Kerry's hardships, Anabelle started a 'GoFundMe' campaign
Image credits: gofundme.com
This is what she writes in the campaign's description
Image credits: gofundme.com
Image credits: gofundme.com
Image credits: gofundme.com
Image credits: gofundme.com
Anabelle couldn't believe so many people chipped in to support Kerry
Image credit: anabellegracestephens
Similarly to Japan, which proposed increasing the retirement age to 75 and older, as opposed to the current 65, arguing that citizens today are "five to 10 years younger in terms of their physical and intellectual fitness than past generations," other countries might have to follow in order to adapt to the nature of ageing societies.
In fact, the number of elderly citizens over 65 who plan to work past the age of 70 has increased to 18%, as opposed to 8% in 2019, a survey has found. And there are no signs showing that this trend is likely to stop any time soon.
"My research has found that about half of older individuals who are not currently working would be willing to work if the right opportunity came along," she told, adding that a lot of seniors surveyed valued flexible schedule, autonomy ("to set their own work pace") and paid time off.
Many people agree that no one Kerry's age should still be working
Maestas thinks a major factor that would help to increase the upsurge of senior-aged workers is less physically demanding jobs. "I was surprised by how many American workers (both older and younger) still have physically demanding jobs," she said, pointing out that the number goes well above 50% for those aged 50-71.
For those who believe having more elderly workers will slow the economy down — there's good and bad news. The good news is that old age has little to do with overall performance. Yes, Maestas’ research suggests that workforces tend to become less productive as the population ages, but "it doesn’t necessarily follow that older workers are less productive than younger workers," she reassures.
The bad news? The overall labor force growth is directly linked to ageing population. "As the population grows older (because we have relatively more retirees, relatively fewer workers), this leads to slowing growth of GDP (or economic growth)." Although, the exact reason why older workforces are less productive isn’t well understood yet.
Thus, she believes more and more experts are looking closely at this issue "as it is becoming apparent just how important it is for our economy."
Although some supported old timers' decision to stay active
Asked for a comment about their age policies, a DoorDash spokeswoman has said that the independent contract work model the company offers is what attracts most of their workers — something that goes along Maestas' lines. "DoorDash is proud to provide opportunities for so many people to earn income on their own schedule and connect with their communities," the DoorDash spokeswoman told Bored Panda.
According to the company's annual survey, 78% of their total drivers are attracted to the idea that they can make their own schedule or put in as many hours as they want. "This means that they decide when, where, and how long they want to deliver," the statement read.
Hopefully, most senior-aged 'Dashers' do it for the thrill of being an active member of society and not out of necessity, like Kerry, who, according to the most recent GoFundMe data ($102k raised), should soon be off to enjoy his hard-earned, belated retirement.