Band 7.5 IELTS Essay Sample | People Are Living Longer. Is This A Positive Development Or Negative Development?

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One of the consequences of improved medical care is that people are living longer and life expectancy is increasing.
Do you think the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages?

Band 7.5 IELTS Essay Sample

It is true that average life expectancy has increased significantly because of the advances made in the field of medical science. In my opinion, this is generally a positive development; however, it also means that more resources are required for taking care of the elderly.

Longer life expectancy does not necessarily mean that a person will remain healthy throughout their life. Older people need medical and nursing care more frequently and they have more number of sick days per year. This means societies need more doctors, nursing staff, healthcare facilities and home care facilities to care for their ageing population. In addition, with the increase in the number of retired people the government spending on pension schemes and other welfare services will also increase exponentially. Furthermore, more retired people also means lower tax revenue. All these issues will ultimately put a tremendous burden on the working young population.

However, increasing life expectancy also has many advantages to the individual, their family and the government. Firstly, the obvious benefit of this is that people can live longer with their family and travel to various places. They can enjoy life longer and contribute more to the society. Secondly, families can also get benefit from their wisdom and experience. They can give valuable advice and emotional support to younger generation in difficult times. They also take care of their grandchildren and teach them various life skills, moral and cultural values. Finally, the government can also benefit from the elderly. They can make elderly people more productive either by increasing the age of retirement or by availing their services in non labour intensive managerial community work.

In conclusion, while increased lifespan has brought about many problems, in my view, the advantages of this development far outweigh the disadvantages.