If you do a search on the Internet for information on aging you will find a variety of negative misconceptions, stereotypes and ideas . For example, when people get old they get weak, frail, forgetful, less productive, blah blah blah. In fact many seniors remain productive, physically active and sharp their entire lives.
It is nice to hear some good things about aging and seniors. And it is even better that these positive aspects of aging are being backed up by scientific evidence. That leads us to a very interesting paper that just came out.
On September 24, 2014 a research study was puplished in a respected scholarly journal, PLOS, that stated that “A ‘graying’ world will be greener, healthier and more productive”. You can find the original paper here: .http://t.co/7wDeUVoSjW
In most countries the current trends are that life expectancy is rising and the fertility rate is becoming lower. This means that populations are made up of an increasing percentage of seniors. The authors discuss that in most studies of aging the emphasis is on the increasing burdens that an aging population will bring such as the increase in money needed for social security and healthcare. They believed that there might be some positive aspects of aging populations that should be investigated.
The researchers studied the aging population of Germany and they explored five areas where they thought that an aging population might provide benefits to society. This link shows a chart that illustrates the difference in Germany’s population in the years 2010 and 2060.
Here is what they found:
- An aging labor force is more productive
- An aging population is greener, they produce less carbon dioxide per person and other benefits to the environment
- Families will have more money overall
- Aging individuals will be healthier, have longer disability-free and active lives
- Women’s participation in the labor force will improve
I recommend that you read the entire article as it makes a very good case for changing the way society treats seniors. We should be valuing and cherishing the contributions seniors make and not complaining about them as a burden.