IELTS writing task 2 – 2

The number of elderly people
in the world is increasing. What do you think are the positive and negative
effects of this trend ?

There is progressive change
in our demography, now there are more elderly people than young adults. This change
has certain benefits and drawbacks linked to it.

Some people argue that there are some
negative impacts of having greater number of old people. Firstly, the economic
progress of the country slows down. The number of economically productive
people will be less than that dependent on them. As their number rises,
government has to allocate greater portion of the budget to take care of them. For
example, increasing amount of money will be spent for providing health
benefits, giving pension and other subsidiaries. This extra money could easily be
used for education of young people, providing free treatment to children. They also
face certain problems. In today’s world when technology has gone leaps and
bounds, everything is being computerised, they frequently face difficulty to
cope and keep pace. 

I tend to believe older people are important part of our society. They being around us provide a sense of support and give us peace of mind. For example, they have wealth of experience, their advice sometimes helps us, young adults, to overcome difficult situations. They make our life easy. For instance, in today’s world, when both the partners are working, grand parents often take care of the kids. This helps the parents to concentrate on their work, save money and children are better raised. This improves family dynamics and helps build a better society.

In conclusion, although
there are certain drawbacks with growing number of elderly people, I believe it
is our duty to take care of them, as it is because of their hardship and
sacrifices we are what we are today and one day we will also grow old.