The average lifespan of an individual ranges depending not only on when they were born (i.e., your grandparents had shorter lifespans than your children do/will), but also on where you live. On the Japanese island of Okinawa, people have the longest lifespans of the entire world: men live on average to be 82 years old, while women average 86 years old. While living on Okinawa, I often saw many more elderly individuals than in the US, and it is not surprising that while people can live such long lives, that the social appreciation of old age is much different there as well. The Japanese in general and the Okinawans in particular see old age as a gift and their elderly relatives and neighbors as wise sages whose opinion should be sought out and whose advice should be heeded. This is a great difference to American values on age, with most Americans wishing and hoping to be younger and older individuals sent to live in homes and centers away from their families.

For this Discussion you will each pick a country or cultural group (can be the same or different from what you have previously chosen) to research online and write a 2-4 paragraph response about how that country or culture views old age and older adults. Depending on how much information is available, try to find and report what the average lifespan is for that group, factors that influence that lifespan (e.g., diet, lifestyle, etc.), and social factors that influence the value of age in that culture or country.