Humanity has always strived for longevity. Since one parameter that indicates the health of a society is living to an advanced age, global society promotes healthy living and puts significant effort into health and medicine to help humans reach this milestone. However, we require the support of elders themselves to make this a reality.
Elders are valuable assets in society. Though their advanced age may limit their physicality, they do contribute in other, meaningful ways. An anthropological research study conducted at the University of California - Santa Barbara in 2022, states that older adults can pass on the knowledge and skills that they have accumulated to their grandchildren and can share the burden of childcare with parents.
Although we do value the contributions that elders give, we hope that they can also enjoy their twilight years. Many older adults enjoy pursuing their hobbies and should do so even more fervently after retirement to maintain their physical and mental health. One person to emulate is Yuichiro Miura, a professional skier and alpinist, who broke his own world record—twice—for being the oldest person to ski down Mt. Everest. His next goal will be a monumental achievement: summiting Mt. Everest at the age of 90. Good luck, Miura-san!
Looking to the future, we hope to see older adults enjoying their free time while contributing to the economy and society as a whole by shopping, using paid services that employ people, paying their taxes, volunteering, and making charitable donations, which they currently do more than any other age group. To conclude, our elders are an important and cherished part of humanity’s past, present and future.
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