Imagine if people stopped aging

[Cognisant]

Imagine if the common cold was eradicated and consequently people stopped aging. It turns out aging isn't an inherent part if human biology, simply a consequence of living with a ubiquitous viral infection. This is only discovered about a decade after everyone gets the vaccine, it's a subtle difference and it takes a while for people to notice.

Note aging isn't the same as growing up, infants don't stay infants.

What happens next?
What are the implications?

 

[onesteptwostep]

I think suicide would become a morally legitimate option to leave life. The UN would underline guidelines on how much population a country should have.

I think government would be much more centralized and everyone would be eventually be tracked. Single life would be a much more prominent, legitimate lifestyle and married life slowly morph into a rarer human activity.

The nuclear family being the economic core in society would slowly fade away too. Many industries would be gone as well. Health, senior care.. they come to mind.

The generational conflicts might go out of hand though. Right now we have at the most 4 generations living at the same time. If there's 5 or more, and if all generations are relatively autonomous and have their own self-interests, there many be conflicts which are much bigger than the current boom-millennial generational dynamic. Intergenerational issues might be a big problem, if no one ages.

 

[Cognisant]

I think suicide would become a morally legitimate option to leave life.

It's not? We're already straining this planet's carry capacity and causing a mass extinction event, at what point did the scales tip?

The UN would underline guidelines on how much population a country should have.

And how do you the expect this to be carried out? Even if 99% of the world's population willingly abstains from breeding the remaining 1% will increase exponentially.

I think government would be much more centralized and everyone would be eventually be tracked.

I agree but only because I think that will happen regardless as it's already been the trend for a while now, do you think the absence of aging will accelerate this somehow?

Single life would be a much more prominent, legitimate lifestyle and married life slowly morph into a rarer human activity.

I can see why you think that but I think the opposite will occur, without the pressure to prepare for the future people will be more willing to live for the present and pursue relationships for their own sake rather than out of the fear of growing old alone.

The nuclear family being the economic core in society would slowly fade away too. Many industries would be gone as well. Health, senior care.. they come to mind.

Can't argue with that.

The generational conflicts might go out of hand though. Right now we have at the most 4 generations living at the same time. If there's 5 or more, and if all generations are relatively autonomous and have their own self-interests, there many be conflicts which are much bigger than the current boom-millennial generational dynamic. Intergenerational issues might be a big problem, if no one ages.

If no one ages past their twenties how would we know which generation they're from? I can certianly see inequality getting worse as "older" people accrue ever more work experiance, qualifications and wealth.

I wonder if perpetually young people will become frustrated that they don't show their age, not wanting to grow old per say but wanting to be distinguished from people who look like their peers but lack their experiance and maturity?

 

[onesteptwostep]

The generational conflicts might go out of hand though. Right now we have at the most 4 generations living at the same time. If there's 5 or more, and if all generations are relatively autonomous and have their own self-interests, there many be conflicts which are much bigger than the current boom-millennial generational dynamic. Intergenerational issues might be a big problem, if no one ages.

If no one ages past their twenties how would we know which generation they're from? I can certianly see inequality getting worse as "older" people accrue ever more work experiance, qualifications and wealth.

Well, we're all going to have some kind of ID that underlies our date of birth right?

Also, the time of which when you were born will determine which generation you would be in. You wouldn't age, sure, but it's like not you'll be able to live the years you weren't alive in. The different generations will also have different interests because of time, obviously. A lot of our generational culture is made during our developmental ages (0-18).

It's not a matter of knowing who's from which generation, the problem is the political outcome if people vote on in generational lines.

 

[sushi]

we will spread like a virus or cancer until we encounter something in the universe that wipe us out. An overpopulation crisis will most likely occur.

 

[ZenRaiden]

What happens next?
What are the implications?

The natural next step would be we would have to have more categories in medicine depending on how many 100s of years you live, and we would have to let go of people in geriatrics departments of medicine.
Obviously not aging is not the same as being immortal. We would still get stick and die. All machines break down over time even biological machines it would just be different reasons now.

The implications are almost none other than figuring out the prison system and criminal law. Death penalty is lot cheaper than 500 years or life time in prison.

On the whole I really do not think its as big deal as people make it out to be.
We already live very long as species.
However what is 1000 years of life compared to billions of years of this planet or universe? I mean even if you live 100 000 years it is still shit little time.

Most importantly knowing your family would be really hard after some time.

Also not aging means that although you do not die of old age, most people are really not that careful to statistically survive beyond certain age.

Its nearly impossible to survive today's traffic. You can be the most careful driver in the world at some point someone will kill you.

I mean the longer you live even the things that are statistically unlikely to happen to you might happen. So eventually we will be reading stories about a guy who was doing research in the arctic and slipped on a banana peel and broke his neck.

You might end up choking on something that was not supposed to be in your food, because that what happens.

Or you might choke on your spit in ripe age of 550 while laughing at a dumb joke?

There are limitless possibilities how to die.

If you think about how many get to die of old age today I mean considering the amount of crap that happens to people on daily basis. .....
I mean if there was one proof of God or guardian angels it would people who are 90 years old of age and not dying of some stupid accident.

 

[byhisello99]

Note aging isn't the same as growing up, infants don't stay infants.

What happens next?

If Churchill was right, we will very quickly run out of socialists. I wonder if there are other significant benefits?

 

[Hadoblado]

Edit: dammit by the time I found my cringe folder you put it on Churchill.