Your Answer ▼ People have different opinions on the advantages and the disadvantages about increasing life expectancy. Some argue that increased life expectancy has a huge merit because we experience many activities during our life time. However, I believe that increased life expectancy leads to various drawbacks not only for individuals but also for the entire society. This essay will outline the problems of this phenomenon. On the one hand, people are living longer than in the past because of medical care improvement. However, these extended period is usually accompanied with minor or major illnesses of the last stage of our life. A study conducted by Seoul National University revealed that the average period which people suffer from diseases before perishing is approximately seven to eight years per person in Korea. This means that most people commonly have very low quality of living during their last stage of life. Although, people’s life expectancy is increased, their health life expectancy is remained the same. Moreover, the growth of population in the elderly resulted from increased life expectancy causes many social problems. For example, the most representative problem is the depletion of pension. The shortage of pension can result in the unstable society with the lack of sustainability. The high proportion of old people cause a great burden for young generation. As a result, the serious conflicts between generations can occur and make society’s separation. To sum up, while increased life expectancy seems to have many advantages, increased life expectancy does not mean the increased well-being. Increased life without enough preparation can act as a pain to individuals and society. Therefore, the advantages of living longer due to the development of medical care do not outweigh its disadvantages.
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