directionofourlieschanged.Whereastodaypeopleoften
understate their age to census takers, studies of past
censuseshaverevealedthattheyusedtooverstateit.The
dignity of old age was something to which everyone
aspired.
Butagenolongerhasthevalueofrarity.InAmerica,in
1790,peopleagedsixty-fiveorolderconstitutedlessthan
2 percentofthepopulation;today,theyare 14 percent.In
Germany,Italy,andJapan,theyexceed 20 percent.China
is now thefirst country on earth with more than 100
million elderly people.
As for the exclusive hold that elders once had on
knowledgeandwisdom,that,too,haseroded,thanksto
technologies of communication—starting with writing
itself and extending to the Internet and beyond. New
technology also creates new occupations and requires
new expertise, which further undermines the value of
longexperienceandseasonedjudgment.Atonetime,we
mighthaveturnedtoanold-timertoexplaintheworld.
NowweconsultGoogle,andifwehaveanytroublewith
the computer we ask a teenager.
Perhaps most importantof all,increased longevity has
brought about a shift in the relationship between the
young and the old. Traditionally, surviving parents
providedasourceofmuch-neededstability,advice,and
economicprotectionforyoungfamiliesseekingpathways
tosecurity.Andbecauselandownersalsotendedtohold
ontotheirpropertyuntildeath,thechildwhosacrificed
everythingtocarefortheparentscouldexpecttoinherit
thewholehomestead,oratleastalargerportionthana
child who movedaway. But onceparents were living