Sociology Now, Census Update

OUR SOCIETY IS OBSESSED WITH YOUTH. Supermodels are over the hill at age 25, and

actresses over 40 are rarely cast as anything but grandmothers. Television, movie, and print

advertisements are aimed directly at the 18- to 35-year-old demographic and ignore the

interests, tastes, and wallets of anyone older. You can buy hundreds of products designed to

eliminate baldness, gray hair, wrinkles, crows’ feet, paunches, all of the characteristics of

age, but not a single one that promises “distinguished-looking gray hair” or “healthful wrin-

kles of a senior citizen.” We compliment people by saying they are young-looking, as if it is

the exact equivalent of strong, healthy, and attractive.

At the same time, our society is growing older. You can hardly pick up a newspaper or

magazine without seeing a headline about the Graying of America. The proportion of

Americans over 65 increases every

year, while the proportion under 35

shrinks. Retirement is no longer a few

years at the end of life: When the

average person will live to see 80,

some can expect to spend as much as

a quarter of our lives over age 65. Today, 13 percent of Americans 65 and older (4.6 million

people) are still working, and there’s talk of raising the official retirement age to 67 or even

70 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2004–2005).

We tend to think either that we’re witnessing the “Graying of America” or the “Youth-

Obsessed America.” But to a

sociologist, it’s really both.

We’re graying and youth

obsessed at the same time.

Age: From

Young to Old

347

We tend to think either that we’re

witnessing the “Graying of America”

or the “Youth-Obsessed America.” But

to a sociologist, it’s really both. We’re

graying and youth obsessed at the same

time.