It just may be. People are no longer surprised to see a 24-years-old mayor or a 28-year-old university president. Professional football players no longer retire automatically when they turn 30. Actresses no longer quit acting when they reach 40. Nor do actors stop working in front of the cameras when their hair turns grey. While people may still blink when a 55-year-old-man marries a 26-year-old woman or a 40-year-old woman marries a 25-year-old-man, they are no longer shocked or outraged.
It seems that the whole internal clock that tells us when we're ready to marry or to retire is no longer as powerful or compelling as it used to be. Instead, age has become a poorer and poorer predictor of the way we live. Greater affluence and higher educational levels are helping us to move toward an age-irrelevant society.
Another reason is that men and women are finding that getting older isn't all losses. There are gains as well. Parents with grown children are enjoying middle age as a time for taking on new challenges and personal growth.
Older people are finding that they are much younger and more vigorous than their parents were at the same age and are able to do more things.
All in all, an age-irrelevant society allows people of all ages to engage in a wider variety of lifestyles without fear of being told "act your age".
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