A new report says that children born in the next ten years could easily live to an average age of 120.
By the time they get there they will have had several careers, marry in their mid 30s, take top-up courses and degrees throughout their lives and have 40 years of retirement.
This week the question the Cornish Times took to the streets of Liskeard is: 'Do you want to live to be 120?'
Pam Yeo, a child minder, well used to dealing with children of the next generation said: 'No, I wouldn't like to live to be 120, the normal life span is quite adequate.' One concern that she did express was that the world might be full of elderly with no one to support them.
A young mother from St Keyne, Rosemary Wright, walking around town in the sunshine with her children, Ryan and Jasmine, said: 'I would not like to live to be that old, the quality of life may deteriorate. I find that some of the youngsters in the villages are frightening the elderly, which is a problem as the elderly obviously can not stand up to them and I would not like that to be me.'
She continued: 'It could be too long a life, I'd prefer to be active when I'm older rather than just living for the sake of it.'
Roger and Nancy Gillbard both agreed and said: 'It depends on whether you are in good health and fitness or not, and the quality of life that you receive being that old.'
The social aspect of being elderly was commented on and Nancy said: ' I hope the younger generations would be tolerant to the elderly. The world is changing so fast and everyone can be under so much pressure it may be difficult.'
Active
A concern that was raised by Nancy was: 'The frightening progression of science and what it can achieve; like extending a life span, is almost going against nature.'
Retired head teacher from St Martins C of E primary school, Mr Ron Bennett said: 'I would prefer to have a full and active life even if it would be short; and as a Christian I do not believe that dying is the end.
'A life, and a long life is a gift and should be appreciated.'
An active octogenarian, Mr Mitchell from Pensilva revealed that he had worked all his life until he was 63 and never stopped. He said: 'It could be possible to live that long and even longer because you can use spare parts now! The problem with living that long would be money. The pensions that are available now are not as good as they should be, so it may cause financial problems more than anything.'
Mr Mitchell's concerns were shared by Mr Kevin Holman, who said: 'I can't see the reason of being that old, if you haven't experienced life by that age it's not worth it.
Money could be a problem, building a big enough pension to support yourself for that length of time could be difficult unless you were in exceptional circumstances.'
Susan Waters from Liskeard is a mother of three - Julianne, Sarah and Kimberley - and said: 'I can not see myself living that long and being that old. Being healthy and active when at that age would make it more desirable; the amount of years doesn't bother me but the quality of life available does.'
Crime
Finally, Paula Crabb followed the trend in Liskeard and said she would not like to be that old. She continued: 'I can be afraid to walk the streets now, more so if I'm going to the bank, especially at night. Life and society can be dangerous, the crime rates would soar with that many vulnerable people around.'
A concern that was raised by many people was how the health service would cope with innumerable amounts of elderly people needing quality health care and services.
It seems that many people would prefer to be active and healthy rather than just living for the sake of it.
But if the quality of life was maintained, individually and socially, then more people would have less problems to living that long.
The subject of living to be 120 may seem like a bizarre concept for the current generations to grasp, however with the speedy progression of science their following generations may see living that long as inevitable and will, as many of us would, if the circumstances were ideal - just accept and enjoy the extra time.
What do you think? Write to The Editor, Cornish Times, Great Place, Liskeard PL14 4BQ or e-mail us at [email protected]">[email protected]