ageing population

• • average age of UK population is rising - less people than elders
  • the average age of the population in 1971 was 34.1
  • the average age of the uk population in 2020 was 40.4
  • the average age of the UK population in 2037 is predicted to be 42.8

  why age is increasing

  • Increasing life expectancy - people live longer so there are more people in the population at an older age
  • Declining infant mortality - babies are less likely to die in infancy so people have fewer children
  • Declining fertility - women have fewer children on average than in the past
• effects

  Public services

  • aging population may put more pressure on health and social care services, as older people tend to use these services more frequently due to weakened immune systems
  • However, we must not generalise, as many people remain in good health well into old age
• effects

  The dependency ratio

  • nonworking old are economically dependent, needing to be provided for through taxation to pay for health
  • As population ages, this increases the dependency ratio and the burden on working population - this means the age of retirement may increase in the future
  • Marxists argue that the old are no use to capitalism because they are no longer productive - this means the state is unwilling to support them adequately and so the family, especially female, often has to take responsibility for their care
  • However, age makes people consume products like anti aging creams
• effects

  social construction of an ageing population as an issue 

  • Much of the discourse on ageing and old age is negative and perceives it as a problem 
  • Much of the media coverage of the issue of old age focuses on the problems surrounding social care and health services.
  • In some societies, older people are revered and respected. in uk society, social construction of age as a time of vulnerability and dependency
• effects

  Policy Implications

  • Hirsch (2005) - a major policy issue will be how to finance the ageing population in the future. He argues we may need to reverse the current trend towards earlier retirement
  • Another way is to encourage older people to downsize from larger family housing to smaller accommodation to make way for younger families, and to free up some of their money. All of these changes require a cultural change in our attitudes to old age
• benefits of ageing population 

  •   Older people play an increasingly important role in providing childcare for working parents
  •   Older people as a consumer group - money is made through targeting this group for holidays, anti aging products
  •   Older people may have good workplace experience and be able to act as mentors to younger working people
  •   Older people may still be fit and active, therefore able to continue to work or if retired, volunteer for charity work.
• Postmodernist view

  • argues that fixed stages of life course have broken down due to trends such as children dressing in adult styles, later marriage and early retirement - blurs the boundaries between the life stages
  • This gives individuals more choice in lifestyles, whatever their age
  • Hunt (2005) - age no longer determines who we are or how we live
  • In postmodern society, identities are shaped by consumption not production - older people = a market for goods and services like cosmetic surgery and anti aging creams
  • These trends break down ageism, reducing the negative stereotyping of elderly