Given the choice, how long do you want to live? At what age would you want to die?

When asked, people opt for an average age of 89. For what it’s worth, when the same question was posed in 2002, people responded with 92.

Does that mean living longer has become less attractive over a seven-year period? I doubt it, but the drop does make one think. And it invites us to speculate on reasons people might have for wanting to live somewhat shorter lives.

This question is only one culled from many in a new study called by the folks at the Pew Research Center. They are the same people whose recent study of religion on the American scene drew widespread attention. This time, too, their work uncovers some provocative information about the attitudes and habits of our people.

Some findings from what the Pew organization calls the Social Trends Aging Survey deserve particular attention. Among them, I noted an increase in the generation gap. Almost 80 percent of those polled believe there are major generational differences in morality, values, and work ethic.

In our society, morality is most often associated with sexual behavior. The Pew findings probably mean that many older people and younger people do not agree about such issues as heterosexual partnerships without marriage and same- sex marriage.

Does the concept of morality extend to issues of war and capital punishment? I doubt it, much as I would wish these issues to be included in one’s moral code.

As to values, the generations clearly differ about religion. Two thirds of people over 65 say it is very important to them. Only 44 percent of people between 18 and 29 say the same.

The survey remains silent about differences in work ethic, thus leaving me without data. Other findings suggest that older workers are often more reliable than their younger counterparts but I dare not assert this on my own

The generation gap is not a particularly congenial subject for me. I much prefer to emphasize what we hold in common. Daily experience offers me many contacts with young people, and we usually discover shared interests.

However, even with this pro-youth bias, I must admit discovering often sharp and sometimes disturbing differences in taste. One among many examples: I detest rap music. To me, it comes as a violation of the eardrums and of any kind of esthetic sense.

Many other forms of currently popular music also violate my cultural standards. They remain far distant from what I consider good art.

And it is difficult for me to find that many people from younger generations reject my religious tradition, and often condmen it without any appreciation of its historical achievements and of the many deep values it has given me and countless others.

However, I like to reach out to young people and discover commonalities as well as differences. To a considerable extent I take pleasure in sharing those parts of popular culture that can bring us together.

Though my daughter sometimes chides me for “age-inappropriate” activities, I feel undeterred. (My misdeeds include seeing the movie “Sex and the City” and joining Facebook.) Fortunately she reproaches me in a lighthearted spirit that suggests ultimate, though perhaps grudging tolerance of what she considers her father’s foibles.

For me, it is old-fashioned and outmoded to have a long list of things you will no longer do because you have grown old. Of course, there are physical activities that you can no longer manage. Though I recently met a fortyish woman who has taken it up, I do not recommend embarking on trapeze swinging in later life.

But conversation across the age span is good for morale and rewarding in other ways. It breaks down the stereotypes that support the generation gap in the first place.

The age span is a necessary part of human life; the generation gap is not.
Much to my satisfaction, the Pew survey discovered close bonds between people in important ways.

For help with errands, appointments, and other daily activities, six in ten older people have someone available to them.

And, especially reassuring, 35 percent of older people say they themselves sometimes offer such help to others.

American  society continues to age, moving toward that high water mark in 2011 when the first wave of the Baby Boomers will be over age 65. That means reaching another milestone for those born in 1946.

This cohort may well establish stronger bonds with young people than we enjoy currently. This unprecedented demographic aging will surely enhance the values of research like that reported here.

Do not be surprised if in future columns I continue to draw on this material. Meantime, if you have access to a computer, you can survey the research for yourself by tapping into the site of the Pew Research Center.