Adulthood and Death Issues

Introduction to Contemporary Issues about Aging and Death

One of the most important social benefits of modern society is the dramatic increase in life expectancy over the last century, particularly in the developed nations. At the turn of the 20th century, life expectancy was barely 60 years or age; less than a century before that, it was approximately 50 years of age (Henslin, 2005; Macionis, 2006). Today, people routinely live into their late 80 or 90s. This change is also associated with various related issues that rarely came up in prior eras of human history. Whereas individuals typically retired in their 50s a century ago (if they could afford to at all, that is), today it is not uncommon at all to continue working well into advanced age or even to begin second or third careers during what used to be considered "retirement age" (Henslin, 2005;...
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