The ageing of population will have a very large impact on our society. The most direct view would be from the economic sector. As people grow older, they grow weaker. Old muscles lose mass very quickly, and are almost impossible to regain. This allows for less manual labor to be done. Furthermore, most people nowadays are seeking work in an office.
This may lead to two types of situation. One is where the economy of a country falls drastically. With fewer workers actually doing the work, the base of the economy is weakened. Machinery is limited, and can break down easily. They would still require people to operate.
The second situation (the better one) is one in which the whole structure gradually changes. The structure of the economy must change to adapt to the needs of the future, and less manual work would be needed. However, this would depend heavily on the advancements in technology and whether we can change in time.
If the old people cannot work, but continue to live on, they need people to support them. It will be the job of either the government or their children. But the government cannot take care of so many old people. This will be a heavy burden for the country’s economy. For the children, they will need to earn more to support their parents, who have brought them up with great pains. Supporting a family is tough enough, and now, people are having fewer children. So, in the future, the poor child will have to support his or her family and still take care of his or her parents. Some will not be able to take it, and old people will be sent into old folk homes. This will cause a social problem, as many of the old people will be stuck in the old folk homes.
Even if the old people want to work, they might not get employed. People would not want to hire a person who may fall sick anytime. This will also cause the younger generation to be unhappy.
As mentioned in the previous page, not all of a person's life is spent healthily. As more people grow older, the number of diseases would increase as well. In 1995, 35% of older persons were reported to have chronic conditions. The most frequent conditions were arthritis, hypertension, heart disease, hearing impairment, cataracts, orthopedic impairments, sinusitis and diabetes. Increase in diseases means decrease in health level. This would eventually cause an impact in the medical fields.
Also mentioned in the previous page is that we know that people are living longer. There will soon be this point in time, when there will be no space on earth. And if there is no food too, what is to be done? Find a new place to live in, or find new food supplies. But what if they cannot be found? Would people still bother to care for the aged, even though they won’t take up space and food? It is a fact that all men are selfish. If it happens, the victims would most likely be the old people.
Let’s think further here. What if, in the future, even further than what we have been talking, the old people making up the biggest percentage of the world population finally dies. There will be this drastic drop in world population. The whole world will be upset. There won’t be enough babies to replenish the population. Will the human race slowly die out? Nobody knows.