Disengagement theory states that it is beneficial to both society and the individual to participate in a process of withdrawal from meaningful roles and relationships as that person enters the later years of life. While the theory does not suggest that one should sever all ties with previous acquaintances and enter a hermit-like state of existence, it does suggest that an aging individual will be less bound by the social networks in which he or she was previously engaged, and a decreased level of involvement will take place at four levels. First, the number of people with whom the individual regularly interacts will be reduced. Second, the amount of interaction he or she has with those persons will be diminished. Third, the style of interaction will be changed due to the altered status that the older individual now occupies. Finally, and most importantly, as the frequency and quality of interaction with others is diminished, the older individual will become increasingly preoccupied with his or her own situation; society will withdraw from the individual just as he or she will withdraw from society.