In my free time, I tend to visit news websites (CNN, NPR, local) and read everything I can about what's happening around the world.  Usually, I'm shocked by the horrible things people do to each other, but today I read an article on NPR's website about the changing definitions of being middle age.

     The article states that the idea of being "middle aged" wasn't written about until the very late 1800s.  Many might find this weird (and the article doesn't even mention this possibility), but I wasn't shocked since the average life expectancy wasn't always high and medical care hadn't made huge strides.  Regardless, the idea of a "middle age" has morphed over the years.

    Patricia Cohen, the author of In Our Prime, writes that the baby boomer generation had a huge impact on the definition.  Because baby boomers grew up in the 60s and were told "not to believe anyone over the age of 30," when they reached their own middle age they realized it wasn't so bad and they didn't feel so old.  Life could still be fun past their 20s!  This mentality also helped improve the social quality of women's lives since by the 1970s, birth rate was falling and women were caring for fewer children.  They had more time to focus on themselves and pursue their interests (something that was unheard of before and Cohen describes this as a "real flowering"for women).  Today, I think middle age is somewhere between late 50s, early 60s, which is interesting to me because, way back in the day, you were lucky to make it 50.
    Maybe Cohen's book addresses improving health care as a reason for the birth of the middle age concept, but I was surprised the article didn't mention it.  I also wonder where the "mid-life crisis" comes into play in this whole argument since I'm currently having my "quarter-life crisis," worrying about my future and where I'll end up in the world.  This article also makes me question the meaning of youth in our society and how it has influenced how we age.

   

http://www.npr.org/2012/01/15/145118783/in-our-prime-what-it-means-to-be-middle-aged