In many countries, people are now living longer than ever before. Some people say an ageing population creates problems for governments. Other people think there are benefits if society has more elderly people.

Nowadays, in some parts of the world,

people

are living longer compared to previous decades. There has been a debate on whether

this

population

brings more problems to governments or is more beneficial. In my opinion, the

disadvantages

of having an elderly

population

outweigh the

advantages

. One of the

advantages

of having an elderly

population

is that they can be the main sources of local history. In many developing countries, students can delve into historical narratives about their hometown by conducting interviews with senior

citizens

.

This

is because they have lived through significant historical periods,

such

as World War II, colonialism, and the early Internet era. In Indonesia,

for example

, historians could write on the social history of war against colonialism in the mid-20th century by employing interview methods with elder

citizens

who lived in that period.

Therefore

, it is important for the

government

to protect elderly

people

and ensure that their basic needs are fulfilled. Despite the aforementioned benefits, there are those who argue that an ageing

population

presents challenges for governments, especially in providing adequate healthcare services. The increasing number of

people

aged 70 to 80 are more likely to have health problems

such

as diabetes, high blood pressure, and others.

Consequently

, the

government

should allocate their budget in order to take care of them. It means that the

government

tends to face some

disadvantages

because of

this

. The funding that they spend for assisting older

citizens

,

for instance

, can be allocated to other areas

such

as education and sports centres for the young generation.

Hence

, it can be said that the

disadvantages

of having elderly

people

outweigh the

advantages

. In conclusion,

while

senior

citizens

may give benefits for writing local history, I argue that there are more problems of having an older

population

such

as healthcare services that require more funding from the

government

.

It is clear that

the

disadvantages

outweigh the

advantages

in terms of having a senior

population

.