Surveys show that people are living longer in many countries. But increased life expectancy has many implications for aging individuals and for society as a whole. What are the possible effects of longer living for individuals and society?
需重视老龄化问题
Over the past decades, the world has seen a huge extension in life expectancy in many countries. Although living longer is good news for individuals and their families, I personally think that we cannot ignore the consequences of aging as a social problem.
Living a longer life means that people have more time to achieve more goals, such as traveling around the world, learning something new.
Also, almost every family has a wish to see the longevity of older members, since the loss of senior members is hard for anyone to accept.
In addition, the extended lifespan would push the government to establish a strong medical care system which can protect its citizens from life-threatening illnesses.
However, there are also some problems triggered by the increase of aging population. First, aging population is slowing down the growth of a country’s economy. The soaring number of senior citizens takes up more social resources, such as medical treatments and care services, as they grow older. Meanwhile, most of them have retired, meaning that they no longer contribute to government revenue, particularly with income tax. And this consequently increases the financial burden of national Medicare system for a country.
Second, even if one can live ever longer, they would find it challenging to compete with their younger counterparts at work, because all vital organs in their bodies begin to lose some function as they age. Symptoms like fatigue and poorer eyesight are common efficiency obstacles which prevent them from achieving more.
In conclusion, despite some positive effects of the longevity boom around the world, we should be aware of its negative effects.