Why is it important to use a sociological perspective to examine and explore age?

The idea of age and what it represents is socially constructed. This means that even though we might feel that age is a natural and universal idea, it is actually a social invention specific to history, tradition, culture, time, and place. To take a simple yet ubiquitous example, even the idea of numerical age is itself socially fabricated. In East Asia, traditionally a person would be considered age 1 at birth, with one year added...

The idea of age and what it represents is socially constructed. This means that even though we might feel that age is a natural and universal idea, it is actually a social invention specific to history, tradition, culture, time, and place. To take a simple yet ubiquitous example, even the idea of numerical age is itself socially fabricated. In East Asia, traditionally a person would be considered age 1 at birth, with one year added at the beginning of the solar or lunar term. In China, a year would be added at the beginning of the solar term (which would typically fall on February 4th or 5th). In Korea, a year would traditionally be added at the beginning of the lunar term (which would generally fall on January 1st). 

Age groupings are usually tied to rites of passage, or to other rituals that take on sociological significance. For example, in many traditional societies males and females come into adulthood at the end of puberty, around age 12. Rites that mark initiation into adulthood are sometime violent or physically challenging. Symbols of passage in the West include becoming old enough to vote, serve in the military, or purchase alcohol. 

The reason that the notion of age should be considered from a sociological perspective is that age and age groupings sharply shape a person's life experiences. A person's age influences the range of  decisions and life choices available to them. Understanding the social underpinnings of age helps us to see that age is not a biologically mandated universal, but a socially constructed hierarchy that can and does change over time.