With a growing proportion of elderly people, significant demographic changes have been recorded in many parts of the world today. I consider this trend to be undesirable in view of potential welfare crises and labour shortages.
Those who regard an ageing population as a positive phenomenon would cite elderly citizens’ potentially useful contributions to society that can benefit both businesses and communities. Productivity can be improved through the sharing of wisdom and experience within the organisation, while economic opportunities could be created through older people’s growing spending and earning power.
Nevertheless, the drawbacks of an ageing society outweigh the benefits. A case in point is a significant financial burden of welfare on a required to allocate more funds for pensions and healthcare for the elderly. This ballooning expenditure would ultimately make a dent on the national budget for other important public services such as education and transport, thereby affecting the quality of people’s lives.
Another challenge may be chronic labour shortages. While the healthcare sector will require a larger workforce to meet the increased demand, the shrinking working population will leave many industries such as manufacturing and construction further understaffed. Although such shortages can be partially alleviated by increasing foreign workforce and robotisation, a considerable investment will be required for their vocational training and technological development.
In conclusion, although some economic benefits are possible, population ageing is set to pose serious challenges for many countries: additional spending on welfare and a dearth of skilled workers. Therefore, I believe that a growing elderly population is a negative societal change.