Demographic Changes

Image by Aunt Owwee via Flickr

The demographic changes that are now under way will change virtually every aspect of life.  Our task is to thoughtfully and proactively redesign it.  What should life scrips look like when most people spend as many years as “old people” as they do rearing their children?  How should families operate when there are four or five generations of a family alive at the same time?  How should societies work when more people are over sixty than under fifteen?

The actions of today’s generations of older people will set the course for decades to come.  Change will happen, one person at a time.  So as you begin a new year, envision the steps–small or large–you can take to ensure a long, happy, healthy, prosperous, and a bright future.

Invest in yourself by learning something new.  Design your world so that healthy habits are a priority and that come naturally to you.  Diversify your social network by befriending a person from a different generation.   Start a business that puts others to work.  Consider hiring not only the young but incorporate the mature person for their knowledge, experience, and longevity.  Think creatively about ways that an unprecedented number of mature, talented, healthy adults can address society’s great challenges.  Then take a first step to ensure that the big challenges will be addressed.  Imagine:  If every person over fifty makes a single contribution, the world could be improved immeasurably.

Take note that social science is clear:  People are happiest when they feel embedded in something larger than themselves and when they are needed. 

Let us explore that older societies are better societies for every age on the planet.