Age and aging is one of the sociological developments that will leave its mark on the twenty-first century with its wide-ranging, multi-dimensional and distinctive features, as well as being a global phenomenon, as well as the irresistibility of its local characteristics. In this course, we aim to discuss what the socioeconomic, political and cultural dimensions of aging might mean, assuming that aging is a multidimensional, complex and 'fluid' phenomenon and that society will gradually become a society of older people.

The concepts of age, old age and aging can be defined in a socioculturally meaningful way. The absence of a universal definition of old age indicates that it changes from culture to culture and time to time. As we discuss the socio-cultural dimensions of aging, we will also examine its dimensions such as economic, political, financial, labor market, retirement life, social services for the elderly. In addition, the meaning of age-friendly technologies and the new opportunities offered by age-friendly cities will be discussed. According to the current (2018) data, there are currently 962 million individuals aged 60 years and over, or 13% of the whole world population. More importantly, this rate increases by 3% per annum, which means a faster increase than birth rates. The population we define as the elderly population is already one-quarter of the European population aged 60 and over. By 2030, it is estimated that the elderly population will increase to 1.4 billion by 2050 and by 2100 to 3.1 billion by 2050. All these figures show us that we are facing a global, widespread, irreversible and unforeseen phenomenon. Without forgetting that aging is a multidimensional, complex and ‘fluid’ sociological phenomenon, this course mainly focuses on many aspects of aging and aging societies.