Human Concepts of Aging

In this essay about aging, I will focus not only on the stereotypical view of what aging can mean to most, but also the broader focus on the many ways aging can be defined. The essay will look at what aging means to different cultures and historical periods and take a broad overview of the concept from different perspectives. Moreover it will also discuss social factors relating to aging. It will show the significant changes of aging historically and various underlying factors as to the changes. Finally, I will discuss what the changes suggest for our future.

What does the concept of aging mean?

Aging is defined into a definition as "Changes that significantly decrease the probability of survival caused by processes within the individual that are universal, inevitable and irreversible" (Schulz & Ewen, 1993 p. 5). However it is a narrow definition of what aging means as there is not one person who would define aging in the same manner. Most of what we think and know about aging are opinions that reflects the stereotyped and exaggerated attitudes about decline and fall that are so common in the western culture. Even though it can be defined in biological terms aging also has another perspective, an entirely social construction and the way we perceive age varies from culture to culture and from one historical period to another (Coleman & O' Hanlon, 2004).

Defining what is old to oneself depends on who we are and our own social position. According to the NSW Department 1989 Report of the Healthy Older People Project, age is defined differently according to the individual. For example a medical professional would state post-menopausal women and retired men as being old. To a fifteen-year-old, parents, grandparents and 30 year olds would be seen as old, and sick elderly people are viewed as older than healthy older people. This shows that there is not one ideal for what old and age is supposed to mean. Since 1900 life expectancy at birth has increased by more than 20 years for females and males. This therefore has influenced our definitions of old age. NSW Health Department (1989) categorised old into groups. Group one `young old' 60 years and over. Group two ` Old old' 75 years to 84 years and group three, the oldest, being 85 years and over.

Moreover although old can be defined to Australians somewhat differently depending on the individual it also can't be forgotten that our Australian Indigenous population vary what old age is once again.