Age and Aging

The Significance of Age to Consumer Culture

One might argue that age—or rather “old age”—is a modern social question. Although older people have always formed part of society, improvements in mortality and life expectancy—and crucially, healthy life expectancy—in the twentieth century in Western nations have led to greater survival rates into older and older ages. On the whole, in richer countries, people are living longer, and they are living into later life in larger numbers and with greater levels of health and fitness than ever before. In the 1950s, only around 8 percent of the global population was over sixty, but in 2000, it was 10 percent; and by 2050 it is projected to reach over 20 percent, comprising two billion older people (Harper 2006). In addition, there is also a proportionately higher growth in the “oldest old”—those who live beyond their eighties, but who often also need support and care in later life. Sarah Harper suggests that this age group is the fastest of all, with annual growth of 3.9 percent (9).

Demographers suggest the “pyramid” shape of the population will gradually spread into more of a rectangle, as larger numbers of people live longer, until sharply tapering off at a point closer to the age of one hundred. Although the growth in life expectancy is not quite as marked in developing countries, there has, nevertheless, been a general increase, with some exceptions (e.g., in Eastern Europe); and although the speed of change is slower than in developed countries, the aging population will be proportionately larger and arguably a greater social “problem” than in developed countries because of less-developed economic well-being. In the West, older people can (mostly) look forward to being wealthier and healthier than previous cohorts and therefore able to “use” consumption as a social strategy; however, in developing countries this will be very different.

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