Population
... They will be interconnected through the basic technology of satellites, Walkman, video, television and the Internet. (50-51)The teenagers of tomorrow will spend the monetary equivalent of a car on interactive computer workstations with virtual reality capabilities; computer generated images will be part of everyday life (54). This in return will cause teenagers to become reliant on computers, a source of contact and information that is both social and factual. The power of the electronic media will become a force that will shape views and opinions. The information shared amongst the teenagers will lead to a feeling of power and identity which in turn will lead to a reshaping of the world through their idealism and energy. The ideas that shape their world will be either highly ambitious or cynical, depending upon poverty, inflation and the media’s view of things (52). To combat this, there will be a war, whether it be a entrepreneurial/capitalist or a literal war. It has been proven that societies with a large number of males are more likely to start wars over land, territory and ideology (52). The fears over a global population with a majority of teenagers comes from uncertainty over what will happen. There has been the thought that the teenagers of tomorrow will be over ambitious, use cheap communication, have the mindset of a computer programmer, travel to other places via the Internet, and provide uncertainty for the future because of demographics (55). The uncertainty of demographics is due to not knowing the rate of immigration. The problem with immigration is those coming from less developed countries to more developed countries will not know the new technology and be disadvantaged. For example, a teenager from Mexico who goes to the United States may not know how to type or surf the web and therefore will be at a disadvantage in the job market. In the job market it is estimated that 85% of the labor force will be comprised of young, culturally diverse nonwhite workers (56). To distinguish trends in the workforce is also a difficult task. This is due to not knowing what may happen and cause huge immigration waves due to world conditions. Yet, the current trends in fertility, mortality and immigration are causes of the elderly becoming the dominant age group. Approximately one in three people are currently under age 15 in contrast to one in ten being over 60. But those numbers are soon to change due to the average age increasing. (58) According to Lutz, the average age of the world’s population will rise from 28 to 41 years old in 2100, with the increase of people over 60 years old increasing from 9.2% to 25.5% (57). The oldest populations are located in Western Europe. The reason for this is that industrialized societies have better medicine and technology that enables the inhabitants to live longer. The lifecycle has an effect on the society. The increase and decrease in a population depends upon the rate of growth. The slower the population growth, the faster the aging of the population (60). Countries such as those in Africa will have a problem supporting their elderly because there aren’t programs for them. Due to disease, environmental problems, political instability and civil wars, taking care of the elderly is not a main concern in Africa. However, the United States is a stable country and there is the problem of how to take care of the elderly. Currently, the elderly receive social security and Medicare. But because the baby boomer population is aging, it is likely that by 2030 1 in 4 people will be older than 60 (6...