how does culture signal to us that we are" old"?

Question

also how do stereotypes and the mass media influence our perceptions of aging? I need some opinions of others, we all don't think alike due to race,culture,or/and religion........ feed back needed

Answer 1

Hello,

Social interactions among a community are quite interesting. I haven't studied this subject in academia but these are just my observances so please, take its value as a grain of Na-Cl.
I have noticed in our North American culture, that our appearance is the first outward indication of our age. Looking an age may have us defined by our public audience to "fit in" a segment of our culture. If we appear to be a certain age, the observer will have certain perception about our behavior. The fashion that we wear, hair cut, hair color, and sometimes weight are all used dozens times daily to ascertain our age and placement in this age segment. For example, a man dressed in khakis, penny loafers, plaid shirt,and a Member's Only jacket would quickly be defined by a those less than 40 as "old". Another example would be if a man were seen with very baggy jeans, an oversize shirt, and a baseball cap as young. Without seeing the face or any activity, we would make these judgments. If an older man were to ware the later, we would assume he was "too old" for such haberdasheries. Further, if he were white and appeared to be 40-ish, we wouldn't know how to classify him whereas a Latino or black it may still be acceptable depending on the area of the country or city. If this person was Tony Hawk (King skateboard champ) he may not be thought of as "old" among the 20's in X-sports. Perspective is a strong factor in determining these perceptions.
The media has certain targeted demographics that it tries to reach and communicated during its programs. During the majority of Saturday morning cartoons, the targeted audience is 5 - 13. For this group, anyone older than 17 would be considered "old".
These are just my humble opinions.