In 2013, Google announced that it was forming a new company called “Calico,” with the goal of coming up with new ways to extend life and combat the deleterious effects of aging. Read the article on this company and possible approaches at the CNN website.
Imagine that average life expectancy rises to say, 140 years, and that the added years are healthy and vigorous for most people. For the Discussion, consider the effects that this life extension would have on individuals and society.
Answer the following questions for the Discussion:
How would this change in longevity affect individuals and their relationships? Would marriages be able to last 110 to 120 years? Or would divorce become even more common, with people re-marrying and having multiple sets of children during their lives? Explain your thinking.
How would an increase in longevity affect education and careers? For many years, workers expected to stay at the same company throughout their careers. Over the last couple decades that has changed, with people changing careers more than once in their lives, either out of interest or necessity. What if the average person could expect to have a work-life that lasted 90 or 100 years? Does it make sense to go to college once in life? To have only one or two careers? Explain your thinking.
How would society change? For example, if people retired at 110 years rather than at 70 years, how would this affect the number of jobs for new workers just coming out of high school or college? If people live longer, would that prevent younger people from rising in careers and professions? For example, if professional athletes could remain competitive into their sixties, would it make sense for any young person to try to become a professional athlete?
Full Answer Section
- Multiple sets of children: With a longer lifespan, people would have the opportunity to have multiple sets of children. This could lead to more complex family dynamics, as people may have children with different partners at different stages of their lives.
- Changes in the concept of retirement: With a longer lifespan, people may choose to work for longer periods of time. This could lead to changes in the concept of retirement, as people may not feel the need to retire at a specific age.
- Increased need for lifelong learning: With a longer lifespan, people would need to continue learning throughout their lives in order to stay engaged and productive. This could lead to an increase in adult education and lifelong learning programs.
Societal Effects
- Changes in the workforce: With a longer lifespan, the workforce could become more age-diverse. This could lead to challenges in terms of managing different generations of workers and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to contribute.
- Increased strain on social security and other social programs: With a longer lifespan, there would be more people drawing on social security and other social programs. This could lead to increased strain on these programs and the need to find ways to fund them.
- Changes in the way we think about aging: With a longer lifespan, people would have more time to age gracefully. This could lead to changes in the way we think about aging and the way we treat older adults.
Overall, an increase in average life expectancy would have a profound impact on individuals and society. It would lead to changes in the way we live, work, and relate to each other.
In addition to the above, it is also worth considering the following:
- The impact on the environment: A longer lifespan would mean more people consuming resources for a longer period of time. This could have a negative impact on the environment.
- The impact on population growth: A longer lifespan could lead to population growth, as people would have more time to have children. This could put a strain on resources and lead to overcrowding.
- The ethical implications of life extension: There are a number of ethical implications associated with life extension. For example, who would have access to life-extending technologies? How would we deal with the issue of overpopulation? These are just some of the questions that would need to be addressed if life expectancy were to increase significantly.