TIME

DO CRANKY PEOPLE REALLY DIE YOUNGER THAN POLLYANNAS?

JUDGING FROM POP CULTURE, OLD AGE turns even the most charming socialites into lovable but grumpy misanthropes. The elderly often appear in films as lonely neighbors, grumpy grandpas and cranky cabdrivers.

But if you look at the scientific data, it turns out that most older people are not actually crankier than younger people—it’s just that they don’t play by the same social rules.

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