Aging (often alternatively spelt as ageing) is both a biological and sociological process wherein

human beings experience and accomplish stages of biological and social maturation. Aging
may be seen as a relatively objective biological process whereby one becomes older and
experiences varied biological developments. Aging may also be seen as a subjective series of
social processes whereby people interpret, negotiate, and make sense of biological
development in relation to existing conceptualizations of what it means to be a certain age.

Aging is Both Biological and Sociological

An example of the bio-social and objective/subjective nature of aging may be useful.
Take, for example, a social being born into the United States in 1980. This person will likely
experience a biological development characterized by the addition of years from birth and by
biological understandings of the time (e.g., a being born in 1980 would have a life expectancy,
medical and legal definition, and contextual series of economic, educational, and other
possibilities based upon birth at this time). As such, our person born into the United States
during the 1980’s can be expected to follow relatively stable patterns of biological development
that will be interpreted in similar ways to others born at the same time.
However, this child born in the United States in 1980 will experience social
development characterized by many factors. For instance, was this child raised in a family or
an orphanage? What kind of education did this child receive, public or private, what types of
educational funding and other educational opportunities did this child receive? Was this child
born lower, middle, or upper class? Did this child begin full time work and adopt adult
responsibilities as an adolescent, a young adult, an adult, or never? Given the many possible
answers to these questions, this person can be expected to follow relatively varied patterns of
social development that will be interpreted in different ways by others born at the same time.
As a result, this child’s biological age (how far from birth one is) may or may not match this
child’s subjective age (how old he/she feels and what responsibilities develop at what age).
Additionally, this child may not align with societal age norms by not doing what society
expects the child to do at certain ages.
Aging is a complex process of subjective biological and social realities intertwined with
relatively objective biological and social standards that shift within and between historical and
cultural periods.

Dividing the Lifespan

Human life is often divided into various age spans, like the following:

• Infancy
• Toddler
• Childhood
• Adolescence
• Young adult
• Prime adulthood
• Middle age
 • Old age
These divisions are somewhat arbitrary, but generally capture periods of life that reflect a
certain degree of similarity. 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.

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. Ironically, among adolescents, just the opposite approach is taken, as adolescents
often try to appear "older", though obviously not too much older.
The labels of "old" and "young" also vary by life expectancy. In societies where
lifespans are relatively short (e.g., Chad) or in areas within a given society where violence and
/ or other means of "early" death are common, one could be considered "old" or "middle-aged"
by her mid-twenties, whereas in countries and social settings with longer lifespans (e.g., Japan)
and lower levels of "early" death, mid-twenties is still considered young-adulthood.
The activities that are expected of one at different ages is also socially constructed and
relative to culture. For instance, retirement only became a "universal" American ideal in the
post-World War I era, as the growth of Social Security and private pensions dramatically
expanded the safety net available to aging workers who were leaving the labor
market.[2] Likewise, the idea of childhood being an age of innocence when children should be
kept from adult worries and spend their time pursuing education and recreating is only widely
held in highly developed countries and is a relatively recent invention, following the industrial
revolution and the introduction of child-labor laws.

Differential Treatment by Age or Ageism

Ageism is prejudice on the grounds of age. While it can be targeted toward individuals of any
age, two groups that are often targeted are the young and the elderly.
Treatment of the Young
While most people are aware of the mistreatment of the elderly (see below), few people seem
to realize that young people are often subjected to discrimination because of their age.
Discrimination against young people is primarily in the area of behavioral restrictions, often
by parents, but also in public places like malls and stores. Some stores have gone so far as to
limit the hours young people can be in their stores.
While the above are clear examples of discrimination, there are other restrictions placed on
young people based on the assumption that they are unable to make decisions for themselves.
Examples of such restrictions include:
 • inability to vote in elections
• inability to legally imbibe alcohol or smoke cigarettes
• inability to legally engage in sexual activity (this varies by region)
• inability to hold public office
• inability to determine whether or not one can marry
• inability to determine whether or not one can get an abortion (varies by region)
All of the above restrictions hinge upon the idea that young people lack the maturity required
to make such important decisions. While this is likely true for some young people, there are
also some young people who are mature enough to make these decisions. The above restrictions
are tied to specific ages for legal reasons, but such restrictions may not always be followed, do
vary substantially by region and culture, and may not always make sense. However, it is also
the case that young people can lack the maturity to make important decisions. Legally, when
young people make poor decisions, the defense of infancy is used in such cases to argue that
such individuals are too immature to be held responsible for their decisions.
Another way in which the young are treated differently is in the marketing practices of
corporations. Most children and teenagers have little money of their own, but of the money
they have most of it is available for buying consumer goods (despite the existence of children
that provide for themselves as early as age 10, most children experience a world where their
parents or guardians cover their basic living needs). Children can also be heavily influential on
how their guardians' (parental or otherwise) spend their discretionary income. Manufacturers
of consumer goods and providers of services (e.g., Disney) are aware of the buying power of
young people and target them specifically. The elderly are also targeted as a consumer
demographic, but the approaches are different.
Young people are also stereotyped as being both amusing, but at the same time potentially
dangerous and disturbing. It is stereotypes like these that translate into the discrimination
toward young people described above, and the concerted efforts of social institutions and
groups to "tame," "train," or "civilize" youthful self-expression by enforcing existing social
norms.
Treatment of the Elderly
While discrimination toward the young is primarily behavioral restrictions,
discrimination toward the elderly ranges from behavioral restrictions to the realm of physical
abuse. Elder abuse is a serious problem in the U.S. There are nearly 2 million cases of elder
abuse and self-neglect in the U.S. every year.Abuse refers to psychological/emotional abuse,
physical abuse, sexual abuse, caregiver neglect or financial exploitation while self-
neglect refers to behaviors that threaten the person's own health and safety.
Elderly individuals who are subjected to abuse have at least two times higher risk of premature
death than do other seniors.[15] And elders who suffer from self-neglect have an even higher
risk (up to 5 times higher) of premature death than do elders who do not suffer from self-
neglect. The higher risk of death associated with elder abuse effects both those who are
physically and cognitively impaired and those who are more capable.
Additionally, the elderly are often stereotyped. One stereotype of the elderly is that they are
inflexible in their attitudes and that they tend to only become more conservative with time.
This is not the case - the elderly are quite adept at changing their views and often they become
more tolerant as they age. Another stereotype of the elderly is that they are poorer drivers than
younger people. This stereotype is also not backed by evidence, with some caveats. Up to about
the age of 75, older drivers are actually safer than drivers of other ages. Beyond age 75 response
times and visual acuity do begin to decline, leading to increases in accidents. Thus, many older
drivers are actually much safer than the youngest drivers (under 18).