(L.F. Carver/ The Conversation) — How old do you feel inside? Not your chronological age (that pesky number on your birthday cake) but how old is the real you, the person inside?
In North America, we generally group people into socially constructed age ranges such as: childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood and old age. Age categories are associated with different rights and privileges and, attached to these age categories are behavioural expectations. For example, old people are expected to be frail and helpless.
However, research has shown that, on the inside, most people’s subjective age — the way they feel inside — is very different from the number of years they have been alive. “Age inside” is the age of the inner self or individual personality. Age inside varies for each individual. A young person often feels older than their age. An older person feels younger. (…)