Title: Old age | Britannica
Headings: Old age
Old age
Social programs
Physiological effects
Demographic and socioeconomic influences
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Content: Certain aspects of sensory and perceptual skills, muscular strength, and certain kinds of memory tend to diminish with age, rendering older people unsuitable for some activities. There is, however, no conclusive evidence that intelligence deteriorates with age, but rather that it is more closely associated with education and standard of living. Sexual activity tends to decrease with age, but if an individual is healthy there is no age limit for its continuance. Many of the myths surrounding the process of aging are being invalidated by increased studies in gerontology, but there still is not sufficient information to provide adequate conclusions. Demographic and socioeconomic influences
In general the social status of an age group is related to its effective influence in its society, which is associated with that group’s function in productivity. In agrarian societies the elderly have a status of respectability. Their life experiences and knowledge are regarded as valuable, especially in preliterate societies where knowledge is orally transmitted. The range of activities in these societies allows the elderly to continue to be productive members of their communities. In industrialized nations the status of the elderly has altered as the socioeconomic conditions have changed, tending to reduce the status of the elderly as a society becomes more technologically oriented. Since physical disability is less a factor in productive capability in industrialized countries, this reduction in social status is thought to have been generated by several interrelated factors: