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This article deals with the specific nature of “ages” in relation to the social ideal of the contemporary individual. The author shows how changes in the frontiers that define personal independence, free and enlightened consent, transform the issue of the ages of life, in particular the border between childhood and adolescence. Taking two examples in the media (Laura Dekker and Liliane Bettencourt), he proposes questioning the notions of autonomy and independence at the early and late periods of life, reminding us that in all shared lives, autonomy is limited by negotiation.