Nowadays, it is very common to hear news about people who live in their 90's or 100's. According to some statistics, over the last one hundred years, the average life span of humans have increased by eight years from seventy three years from sixty five for men and nine years to seventy eight form sixty nine years for women. Accordingly, there are several causes and effects of people's longevity.
The first reason is why people can live longer is the development of medical technology. Before the nineteenth century, there were not many doctors who knew how to do complex surgery, such as heart related operations. Today, tumors inside brains and some cancers which were considered terminal in the past can be cured. In addition, a variety of effective medicines play an important role to help people live longer than before.
Another reason for this phenomenon is industrialization. In the past, there were not many tractors in farms and efficient machines in factories; in contrast, most of today's work is done through the aid of machines. People do not need to harvest crops, hammer nails or wash clothes, by hand as much as before. This has liberated people from tough work which can cause fatal injuries or disease. Coinciding with the fact people can have longer lives; there is a major effect that it will bring to society. More and more people are needed to work in the health care field. Usually, old people have some difficulties in taking care of themselves. Consequently, they have to ask others to help them to take baths, cook, or go shopping. The more old people a society has, the more young people are needed to serve them.
In conclusion, due to the development of medical technology and industrialization which means people can enjoy longer lives than before. Longevity results in an increasing number of people needed to serve the elderly. How to solve the dilemma of both serving the old people well and not affecting our economy which is the base for the whole prosperity of a country is a crucial issue facing not only the government but also common people.
