Disengagement theory outlines a process of disengagement from social life that people experience as they age and become elderly. The theory states that, over time, elderly people withdraw, or disengage from, the social roles and relationships that were central to their life in adulthood. As a functionalist theory, this framework casts the process of disengagement as necessary and beneficial to society, as it allows the social system to remain stable and ordered. People lose social ties to those around them because they expect death, and their abilities to engage with others deteriorate over time. As a person begins to disengage, they are increasingly freed from social norms which guide interaction. Losing touch with norms reinforces and fuels
