Successful aging: Let’s drop the old term ‘elderly’ and start using ‘elder’ for a new perspective

I recently had a conversation with a friend whose parents were retiring to Arizona. She referred to them as elderly. I asked their age. She replied, “They are 70 years old.” I was surprised that she described them as “elderly.” I am age 76 and just don’t identify with the term and would not want someone to describe me in that way. Is elderly a common and acceptable term to describe older people? What am I missing? N. N.
Dear N.N.
Words do matter. We have a problem