It seems that in the U.S society we are obsessed with youth, and looking youthful. All you have to do is walk in to any pharmacy, or watch any commercial and you will see "anti-aging" products. You also constantly here people saying things like "60 is the new 40" "40 is the new 20" and so on. It seems people are afraid of getting old, and/or that getting old and "acting your age" is a bad thing when you are older.

It seems that we are starting to believe our own lies, what I mean by think that they are actually the age they think they look, and because of that tend to act that age. An example:

My girlfriend watches those real-housewives shows, and one of the women on there missed her period(she's in her fifties) thought she was pregnant, granted she doesn't look fifty, but her ovaries don't know that. It seems she doesn't think of herself as fifty either...because she doesn't look it.

I see more, and more older women in the clubs(all the way into their 60's) acting like 20 year-olds because that is what they think they look like.

So it that as we chase youth, we are forgetting to mature, and instead of "acting our age" and enjoying the different ages life has to offer, instead we are choosing to stay in a perpetually immature age, and constantly striving to look younger, problem is, people are starting to believe these things, and by the time they figure out they aren't 20 anymore, it is to late. Do you see this trend as well?

Yes, it's a trend, and some people are just in denial, and the rest are so stupid they buy into the media hype.

I don't mind getting older, it's better than dying.....

Ouch! While I agree there are foolish people who act like ignorant children at any age I don't know if having fun and enjoying life stops at any age. I don't know if I will party like it is 1984 now that we are looking into 2014 but will I turn sixty putting on a pretty dress, my dancing shoes, and going to the club for a good time? You bet. And it isn't anything about thinking I am anything but every year I have survived and thrived in.

Would I have wanted a baby at 50? No, and initially I doubt my best friend did until it turned out to be a fact and now her family has a wonderful young life that is a joy to all.

The last time that I checked, aging doesn't guarantee maturity.

I use my grandad as an example of this. He was always afraid of getting old, so he exercised obssessively. He would detest his birthday, because he never wanted to be one year older than the last. I don't mind looking old/feeling old. Aging is natural, so I'm not afraid of it. Some are more obssessed with preserving their youth, but mainly because they want to sleep with the younger generation. I don't have a fear of death. I'm here, then I'll die. So for me, there's nothing to fear about being closer to death, year by year.

no, here in the heartland I do not see that trend. how, may I ask, is a 60 y/o supposed to act? is there an age where it is no longer acceptable to have fun? one of the fun things about beign 45+ is that childbearing is mostly over with. so we can do things again like going out dancing, or work out in the gym. is that a problem? I think if someone had a problem with that it is their problem and they should mind their own business...

Well I have heard 40 the new 30.
Young is a state or mind,not an age to me
you seem to relate being young,to being
a partier, but ones best earning potential
is between 25-40.
So the longer you can think like that age the
more successful you will be.
That's the ages when people are most creative
and motivated so "how can you soar with the Eagles if your hang with the turkeys"
look at the majority of the great writers/musicians and Comedians.
They all seem to peak in their 20s (Lennon/ McCartney)

I bought Jerry Seinfelds book in '94 and most all his material to date was written when he was
15.
I'm glad your can embrace age but I'm not ever going to regrets that I missed my 40s because I was 'acting' 28.
the truth of it is I am in my 40s and I have
enjoyed the benefits of it; having the knowledge
and passing it on to the younger guys,especially
When I can pass on the knowledge that will keep
them from loosing their lives on the job.

Well im not sure this goes with the subject but here goes..

I find it sad that numerous young people at my job place consider me "old".

Lol im 29.

Maybe they relate "old" to maturity. Sometimes people who are not relatively mature consider those who are more mature than their age as "old", not necessarily meaning "age" but not in sync with their immaturity. JMHO.

And to answer the question, I believe social media and technology is what has hindered maturity. No one has to think... we can "google it".. no one has convos anymore, its all hash tags and "tweets". And people's conversations now are replies on a status of what someone had for dinner. Lol its all text, I too a victim... but I also come from a background of being taught to have a conversation face to face rather than "post" everything. Idk if that made sense, and I sound old.. lol idk. Maybe im wise and remember, unlike kids today, what it was before nooks and kindles and remember the Dewey decimal system in the library. Lol

Anywho

good possibility. (Also doesnt help ive lost my hair and have tons of grey. But thats a different topic lol )

Yeah, I can relate there! You are who you are, don't worry about what other people label you as. I am definitely old age wise, but no one can dictate to me how old I feel. JMHO

Thats a good way to think. I sometimes let it bother me and start feeling "old".. I should look at it is being idk, unique lol.

Unique and special as everyone should be!

Exactly.

I miss being 29.

Two sides to the coin. I think it's good we are now free to choose how to behave and to dress. A newly acquired freedom, in the past you were supposed to dress and look your age and the image was filled in by society, you didn't have much of a choice.
So in that sense I feel it's good we have freedom of choice, but we shouldn't go to extremes as in being 60 en fooling yourself to believe you're 20. You still got to be realistic and certainly not fear a wrinkle or grey hair.

The biggest issue with this trend is that it burdens our youth: how are they supposed to rebel when their (grand)parents look and behave like them?
For instance, when I was a teen, my parents totally hated my fave music. So music was one of the ways to rebel, to work on my own individuality etc etc.
These days parents love the same music their kids listen to, they dress the same, they understand what it's like to come home (too) late, they behave like friends of their kids' friends and so on. How are teens supposed to break free from their parents when they are totally cool? In a way we force our kids to go to extremes.

First of all,what are the signs of one being "Mature"?

Yes! I miss the card catalog in the library....

That's why I hate Twitter; all it is is pics of people's dinner and confusing retweets that I never could figure out...however I have a woman on my FB that does the same thing, so I guess i'ts everywhere now.