Thanks to the improvement of living standards worldwide, an increasing number of dwellers are able to live longer than before, which brings both advantages and disadvantages on the societal level. From my perspective, I believe it may suffer more in the long run, if proper measures are not taken to address the problem.
One social problem related to population ageing is that medical costs will increase dramatically and hurt the economy. The need for medical care
as well as
the spending on it tends to increase with
age
. Elderly people are prone to health problems
such
as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer, so a country with a large proportion of aged people has to fuel the expenditure on medical services to treat ageing-related conditions.
This
leads to a budget cut for education, infrastructure projects and scientific research, which can affect a
society
adversely not only in the quality of life but
also
in long-term economic growth.
Another issue is that the productivity of the whole
society
will drop with the growth of an ageing workforce. The
society
termed “ageing” normally has to raise the pension eligibility
age
to keep the pension scheme up and running
as a result
senior citizens are forced to prolong their retirement
age
. Unfortunately, most of them struggle with cognitive decline and other conditions which can limit their ability to process information and handle work,
thus
crippling productivity and profitability.
This
will be a major contributor to exacerbating economic and social progress.
On the other hand
, it is possible that communities and neighbourhoods can tap into the wisdom and experience of elderly people. Having worked for decades, they are experts in their fields of work and have specialist knowledge and work-related tips that they can share with younger generations. Senior scientists,
for example
, cannot only devote more time and effort to their careers but
also
impart useful practical experience and methods to their students, thereby making greater contributions to the public.
This
would not happen if they were unable to live long lives as a great many of their counterparts died at an early
age
in the 1900s.
In conclusion,
although
it is beneficial to
society
when life expectancy is prolonged in some aspects, the issue will take a toll on the country in future if we do not take action as soon as possible.