Age identity Flashcards
Chronological age
The number of years a person has lived
Life course
Different stages of our life
Childhood
Socially constructed as it is now not seen as a time of vulmerability or dependence. Example include marriage in some countries at age 12
Postman (1982)- emergence of childhood
Spread of literacy created ‘innocent child’
Media and visual culture is threatening childhood for example sexually explicit music videos and file also violent tv etc
Youth Study
Abrams (1959)
All young people are all part of the same ‘youth culture’ they are all the same transitional stage. He treats youth as homogenous (same)
Middle age
Concepts of middle age:
Lies between young adulthood and old age (30-50
Victor- Description of middle age
Distinctive phase of life of people in their 40s and 50s
Victor- Attitude of mind
Middle age is defined when children leave home and by having children
Middle age is “meaningless” as people experience it so differently for example Kim kardashian and Bard pitt
Bradley- Middle age is high status
This is because they hold power at work, run the country and are seen as experienced
Old age
Being aged 65 or over as it links to retirement age for both genders
Victor (2005)
Suggests that old age is treptyped and identified as a period of:
Loneliness
Being unable to learn
Having poor health
Being dependent on others
Mass media and youth
Cohen-(1980) youth are scapegoats who are blamed for everything.
Moral panic- Media will exaggerate fear in teenagers
How is age identity changing?
The concept of old age being considered as a “negative label”
Many old people continue to work and drive also lead active social lives
Many young people are conformists which means they get on well with their parents
Laslett (1991) challenged the use of the traditional categories
Fist age: socialisation
Second stage: work and childbearing
Third age: independence
