Why do people become more selfish as they get older?
360718
I don't know if that's a fair question, not all people get more selfish with age.
307564
It could be a very special bond between the two.  Like if the eldery person does not have many family members there to visit with they are truly happy that a younger person that may have better things to do is, is choosing to hang with them instead. I worked in a nursing home from 18-20 and i saw that alot of the people there didnt have visitors come so i sat with them and even came in on days off to visit with them, and they seemed to be happier because they have someone to talk to and know that the person also cares for them. Now on the teenager side, it often is easier to talk to an eldery person than it is to friends and family and they are great listeners. And they can almost always get good advice from them since they have been around longer. And to be honest i liked hanging out with the eldery folk more than my own friends, they have more stories, they are less likely to turn their back on you, and they are funny at heart. I do miss working in the nursing home just for that fact, But i cant go back because Ive seen too many of them pass on and cant deal with that again.
933865
Well in some ways that is sort of true. Mainly because people always want what is best for themselves. But not everysingle person is selfish. Everyone has their own way of showing that they care about someone else. But I can admit, sometimes i'm a little selfish myself. : )
636241
Being selfish.  Maybe you oughta suggest an activity both of you can do.
123509
If you are getting older  could be due to aging process
576583
some people are selfish and do not worry about others. they are only worried about advancing themselves in life.
524378
Older people have lived longer.  They have had more life experiences.  You know the saying, older and wiser.  Well, they probably have been through most what young people are going through.
421828
Maybe that way they won't feel so old or if they can do things for them self's than they can do things for others. That can make them feel wanted and needed. And that is very important for them.
528315
Because by the time you get to be fifty, you are SET in your ways and ideas and not easily changed. Because of this, it is hard for two fifty year old people to get together and work out indifferences. I know, I'm 47 and can't find anyone like me!
598969
men tend to mature and do that less as they get older and closer to death.
18620
Well... The previous answer was a very helpful definition of why selfishness is bad... but completely fails to answer the question.\n\nThere are so many selfish people in the world for two reasons... poor socialization, and survival.\n\nSome people just aren't raised well... they are neglected, abused, trained poorly by their parents or otherwise fail to learn the value of the societal group as a means of protection and support. These people may understand on some level that ideally things would be better if we all worked together, but just can't seem to do it because of a fear that others will take advantage of them.\n\nSurvival is the other main reason. In areas where there is war or famine, people learn quickly that there aren't enough resources for everyone. If you have anough food and water for 2 people, and have 10 in your group, the selfish people are more likely to survive. If you tried to share the food among everyone, you would all die, it would just take a little longer. Selfishness is a strong survival mechanism that helps people survive in times of need.\n\nUnfortunately, most people have trouble letting go of selfishness when it is no longer necessary, and continue to excercise their selfishness for different reasons. Some, even just are because they get a thrill and feel powerful from it.\n\nThis isn't anything new, and won't be solved anytime soon. We need to raise and educate our children well, and make sure everyone has the food, water and resources they need. Maybe after we do that, there will be hope.
791791
Trust me it happens with older women as well, and not surprisingly there are some men who experience settling for second best instead of being patient. The root of the problem is while we want to have a successful career, money in the bank, a big fine house, and the 2.0 children, we don't want to wait until the right person comes along who feels the same way about certain things in life as we do. Therefore, we settle for someone far less mature and serious about life than what we had intended because we don't want to be alone. We hate being alone, we hate spending time with ourselves, we can't stand the quiet. For some reason we believe that it is easier to be with anybody than with nobody.
884642
You are really selfish.
269376
cause things get older not younger.
1164755
Likely for the same reason that the furniture shrinks as we get older - the growing itself is what does it.  \n\nAs we mature, we have longer and longer attention spans.  We are able to sit quietly and complete a time consuming task - where as when we were kids, we had short attention spans and so we would flit from activity to activity, getting to do many more things in the same amount of time.  I think that creates the illusion of time speeding up for us.
962979
Hi, good question, Its always older people who make this remark, when you are young a day can be so long, and you really can`t imagine 20 or 30 yrs ahead, and also you tend to live for the here and now.\nas you get older middle to elderly age life dosen`t seem that long anymore,you are more aware of your own mortality,and leaves you are more aware also of what you could do or re-do if time was on your side.\nalso there are people who fight getting old and regret  the aging process, again some people have had such full meaningful lives and they too mourn the fact that time is robbing them of more of the same.\nmany are the reasons for saying life`s too short and we will all probably say it sometime in our lives, the important thing is too live well and have few regrets.
137314
They are selfish and think only about what they want.