age

Examples of age in the following topics:

• The Middle Years

  • Middle age is the period of age beyond young adulthood but before the onset of old age.
  • Census lists middle age as including people aged from 35 to 54, while developmental psychologist Erik Erikson argues that middle adulthood occurs from the age of 40 until 65.
  • Middle-aged adults often show visible signs of aging such as the loss of skin elasticity and the graying of hair.
  • However, people age at different rates and there can be significant differences between individuals of the same age.
  • However, the majority of middle-age people in industrialized nations can expect to live into old age.

• Dividing the lifespan

  • Human life is often divided into various age spans, like the following:
  • In many countries, such as Sweden, adulthood legally begins at the age of eighteen.
  • This is a major age milestone that is marked by significantly different attitudes toward the person who undergoes the transition.

• The Social Construction of Aging

  • The social construction of aging entails the creation of social norms and symbols that encapsulates the aging process.
  • Rather, cultures imbue youth and age with meanings.
  • There is thus no such thing as a universal age for being considered old .
  • Many Eastern societies associate old age with wisdom, so they value old age much more than their Western counterparts.
  • Of course, interactions involving the perception of age must then vary by culture, as different cultures ascribe the notion of age with different values.

• The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

  • According to the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective, old age, and aging, are socially constructed and determined by symbols that resemble aging in social interactions.
  • Rather, cultures imbue youth and age with particular meanings.
  • Given the socially constructed nature of age, there are certain behaviors that people typically associate with certain age groups as being "appropriate" or "acceptable" .
  • Many Eastern societies associate old age with wisdom and value old age much more than their Western counterparts.
  • Given the socially constructed nature of age, there are certain behaviors that people typically associate with certain age groups as being "appropriate" or "acceptable. " Is this old woman challenging any conventional perceptions about how women of a certain age should behave?

• Socially Constructed Interpretations of Aging

  • While aging, itself, is a bio-social process, the ways people and cultures interpret ages (e.g., "old," "young," "mid-life") and the ways these interpretations are distinguished by varied biological age markers vary dramatically.
  • In Western societies, where youth is highly valued, people are considered "old" at much younger ages than in Eastern societies where age is often seen to beget wisdom.
  • This emphasis on youth translates into considerable expenditures on makeup, cosmetics, and surgeries to hide signs of aging, particularly among women, but also among men.
  • The activities that are expected of one at different ages is also socially constructed and relative to culture.
  • While age will eventually take its toll on everyone, the association of vigor with youth is a cultural construct and does not necessarily reflect the reality of biological aging.

• Age

  • The city of Pittsburgh offers an intriguing case study of the effects of an aging population on a city.
  • Chronological aging may also be distinguished from "social aging" (cultural age-expectations of how people should act as they grow older) and "biological aging" (an organism's physical state as it ages).
  • Many societies in Western Europe and Japan have aging populations.
  • While aging is often associated with declining health, current research suggests there are some things people can do to remain healthy longer into old age.
  • Discuss the impact of aging on a person's life and the demand it places on health care

• Global Aging

  • China can expect to confront an aging population in the foreseeable future if this trend, among others, persists.
  • Worldwide, about 8% of the total global population is over the age of 65, while about 12% of Americans are over the age of 65.
  • The economic effects of an aging population are considerable.
  • Depending on the age ranges at which the changes occur, an aging population may thus result in lower interest rates and the economic benefits of lower inflation.
  • Discuss the impact of an aging population on the economy, for example, in terms of health care costs

• Global Aging

  • The current strain on America's social security system is largely the result of an aging population.
  • This trend translates to a greater percentage of the world's population over the age of 65.
  • Growing life expectancy is not the only factor contributing to global aging.
  • These two trends, stemming from the growing global economy, cause global aging.
  • This map illustrates global trends in aging by depicting the percentage of each country's population that is over the age of 65.

• The Older Years

  • Old age cannot be exactly defined, but it is often associated with certain activities, such as becoming a grandparent or entering retirement.
  • The boundary between middle age and old age cannot be defined exactly because it does not have the same meaning in all societies.
  • Traditionally, the age of 60 was generally seen as the beginning of old age.
  • He characterizes old age as a period of "Integrity vs.
  • Discuss some of the implications of old age, particularly in relation to Erikson's "Eight Stages of Life" and age discrimination

• Composition of the Older Population

  • The number of individuals living into old age is growing worldwide.
  • While the trend of an aging population is obvious, it can be difficult to assess because the definition of "old age" depends entirely on the cultural norms of a given society.
  • Biological markers for old age (such as wrinkles, grey hair, memory loss, etc.) exist, but old age can also be defined by when an individual begins to fill certain social roles, such as becoming a grandparent or retiring.
  • The South had the largest number of people aged 65 and up, while the Northeast had the largest percentage of people aged 65 and up.
  • This means that 1 out of every 5,786 Americans is over the age of 100.