As a result of advances in medical care, average life expectancy is increasing for men and women. Do you think most people will see this as a positive development? What are the disadvantages of an ageing population for individuals and society? Support your point of view with reasons and/or examples from your own experience or observations.
According to modern research, it is proven that the life expectancy has gone up comparing to the last decade and this is all due to the development of modern technology in the medical field. I personally believe that every person wants to live longer though, there are some sever issues behind this curtain which individuals and the society have to address.
Unarguably, everyone would definitely accept a long life as the majority may try throughout their lives to live longer. For example a lot of people do not want to or want to quit smoking in order to live longer. Further, some do not eat harmful food and try to become vegetarian with the hope of living for ever. Therefore it is certain that everyone would find this advancement in medicine is a positive sign.
However, when the life span increases-, there are some negative effects towards to the individuals and commonly to the society. For individuals, it could be very hard for them to find employment opportunities as with the good health the current workforce’s retirement age would raise and as a result the unemployment rate would rise. This could lead unrest among young generation forcing them to illegal drugs and other unlawful activities.
Also, if the life expectancy is higher, then the death rate would go down and as a result, the government has to spend huge money from its budget to maintain these folk. For instance, the health and safety costs and pension schemes should be reserved much higher than earlier. Further, as the grey population decreases, the demand for aged cares would fall down and as a result most clinical staff including care workers and nurses would lose their jobs.
Also, it leads to a higher fertility rate among women and they might tend to make more babies and as a result of it, the rate of birth would go higher. Therefore this could be unfavourable to the nuclear family concept culturally, socially and even individually.
To sum up, it can be seen that personally people would like to live longer thanks to the modern medicinal advancement though it would pose issues directly to the nuclear family and to the society alike.