It is somewhat expected that age should build a person more. By implication, this means that as a person advances in years and grows in age, they should know better and be better. And that in a large sense suggests that they should be more or. Be it in dealing/relating with people, approaching life issues, or personal or professional conduct.
At some point in time, it was acceptable that age speaks to maturity. That, being well advanced in years shows a symptom of a very mature being. Not just maturity, but wisdom and sense. Perhaps, this was characterised by virtue of the fact that the older we get, the more we learn and experience from life, hence, making us better and more mature beings.
The times beg to differ. And so do I. A sense of cultural respect and the like made the narrative so. With a better understanding today; that an adult can be immature while a teenager can be mature, such ideals seem to be eroded. Nonetheless, we have seen it to be true. We can testify from the lives of some people and personal occurrences with them.
Should age and maturity be directly correlated? It should have been so. Not taking away the fact that a young mind can also be mature. The case should have been that, as we age more we attain a higher level of maturity. Sadly, it isn't the case, and so I don't think there's a direct correlation. A younger one can turn out to be the more mature one.
I have heard of stories of some families with several children; in those families, the eldest or older children were expected to be more mature and lead well by virtue of their ages. Sad were the stories, as the one or ones in such positions didn't do well. You would then find that it was the younger one or ones who became the mature ones and backbone of the family.
They became the ones who carried the family. I know of one directly. I grew up knowing them and the case was like that. It was a sad case. All efforts to make things work in that supposed order failed. And you could just wonder if indeed age means maturity or maturity is beyond that, beyond the age number.
It is beyond that I will say. Maturity is not really about age; though the younger ones could behave more immaturely. It is rather about a person's decision and ability to be disciplined, reasonable, courteous and sensible. Looking at these characters, it is not something that is limited to an age group alone.
Everyone irrespective of their age group, who in these characteristics can be said to be mature. If not, then they can be said to be the opposite; immature. I have come across and seen on screens younger persons whose characters widely suggest something different from their age. Maybe because we expect much of that from older age.
There should not be a sense of direct correlation between older age and maturity. Not how it was perhaps thought to be. We can find both the younger and older people demonstrating characteristics that portray a sense of maturity. It is about developing and showcasing the right set of characters as the situation could demand, which reveals one's maturity.