Social Impacts of Population Aging

Posted by Editor on August 6th, 2025

Social Impacts of Population Aging

Population aging is one of the major social challenges facing many countries today. In China in particular, it refers to the growing share of older adults and the gradual decline in the working-age population. This shift has significant effects on society: it increases pressure on the state and communities and greatly intensifies strains in the labor market.

First, the heaviest pressure shows up in pensions and healthcare. Governments must devote more resources and funding, creating a serious fiscal burden. Rising pension expenditures may require higher taxes, which indirectly increases the load on younger generations. Demand for medical care and social services also climbs: older adults are more likely to become ill, so the state must invest more in prevention and treatment. In terms of social services, seniors need more support—health checkups, nursing care, and various forms of assistance—adding further strain to society.

Second, a tighter labor market heightens pressure on families. In an already difficult job environment, young people are expected to support their elders, increasing their financial burden and indirectly contributing to lower birth rates. That, in turn, worsens labor shortages and creates a vicious cycle. Insufficient labor supply affects not only business expansion but even routine operations, while reduced workforce availability pushes up labor costs and squeezes firms.

We should face population aging squarely. The government can provide appropriate family subsidies to avoid overburdening young people and fueling a negative spiral. At the same time, older adults should be encouraged to take part in community activities within their ability, which supports physical and mental health and eases social pressures. Aging is an unstoppable trend, but active responses can lead to a better society.

Jiani Wang

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Society

Posted by Editor on July 1st, 2025

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Society

In recent years, artificial intelligence has advanced rapidly, gradually reshaping social structures and everyday life. While AI offers enormous benefits, it also brings significant impacts—especially in employment and safety.

AI can replace many traditional roles and enable automated production, particularly for repetitive, assembly-line tasks such as customer service and factory work. These jobs employ many ordinary people, especially in the service and manufacturing sectors. AI can lower labor costs, reduce human error, simplify management, and improve efficiency—but it also exposes many workers to the risk of unemployment. For individuals, losing a job can destabilize an entire family. At the higher-skill end, AI’s large databases and faster, more advanced algorithms not only displace some roles but also create new ones, with many people now working directly in AI-related fields and forming new professional ecosystems.

AI’s development also raises safety concerns. Take self-driving cars: they bring convenience, but if a system failure causes an accident, who is responsible? Algorithms make mistakes, and on questions involving morality and ethics, AI cannot fully reason at that level—it is based on data, not emotion. The large data demands of AI require continual collection and extraction, which can infringe personal privacy if not handled properly. For example, AI-generated images often remix existing artworks; whether this constitutes plagiarism remains a matter of debate.

AI’s rapid growth brings great convenience but also many difficulties and challenges. Alongside progress come real risks. We should not over-rely on AI; we should treat it as a tool, not a crutch. Governments need to craft sensible laws and oversight to set boundaries, strengthen regulation, protect people’s privacy, and foster a healthier society.

Jiani Wang

To Be Holistic

Posted by Editor on June 11th, 2025

To Be Holistic

Xingyu Chen

In recent years, the traditional emphasis on academic achievements as the sole criterion for graduation has begun to change. Universities increasingly recognize the importance of non-academic achievements, which can nurture well-rounded graduates equipped to navigate the complexities of the modern world. In order to educate students to be holistic talents, universities should develop a non-academic standard for graduation.

Non-academic achievements, such as leadership, community service, and physical fitness, significantly contribute to students’ holistic development and can enhance their academic performance. According to the research from California State University, Sacramento, students participating in extracurricular activities not only achieved higher retention and graduation rates but also maintained superior GPAs. Theoretically speaking, participating in non-academic activities contributes to five measures, Behavioral Engagement, Cognitive Engagement, Conscientiousness, Self-efficacy, and Hope, which are positively correlated with academic success. These findings suggest that engagement in non-academic pursuits develops transferable skills that bolster academic performance.

In today’s rapidly changing job market, non-academic achievements are particularly responsive to emerging professional demands. Through extracurricular involvement, students often encounter real-world scenarios that mirror workplace challenges, which facilitates the acquisition of skills that traditional academic settings may overlook. For instance, many universities set up art organizations enabling students to organize events, and allowing them to gain practical experience in teamwork. At Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the Art Center empowers students to oversee gala events that cultivate creativity, communication, and collaboration, skills highly sought after in today’s workforce.

To effectively evaluate non-academic achievements, universities should implement diverse assessment methods that encourage student participation while retaining flexibility. According to the Interim Measures for the Administration of Student Volunteer Service, universities can track volunteer hours and categorize students as one to five-star volunteers. Those who have accumulated 100, 300, 600, 1,000, and 1,500 hours of service since the beginning of their college years are recognized as one to five-star volunteers respectively. By assigning grades based on the duration and quality of volunteer work, presentations, and other contributions, institutions can recognize non-academic endeavors as part of the graduation rating. This balanced evaluation would reflect both in-class and out-of-class performance, ensuring that the students meet comprehensive graduation standards.

In conclusion, integrating flexible non-academic graduation standards does not undermine academic rigor; instead, appropriate standards complement it. Such an approach equips students with the capability to face diverse challenges in their professional and personal lives, and fosters a balance between intellectual capability and emotional, physical, and social well-being. By validating both academic and non-academic achievements, universities can nurture graduates who are not only knowledgeable but also adaptable, responsible, and ready to thrive in society.

Resilence in Crisis: From “The Plague”to Global Pandemics

Posted by Editor on June 2nd, 2025

Resilence in Crisis: From “The Plague”to Global Pandemics

Feiyu Lin

Albert Camus’s novel “The Plague”, published in 1947, depicts an epidemic destroying a small town-Oran. In the epidemic, as the epidemic spreads, the government establishes a strict quarantine, locking the town gates to keep the sickness from spreading to nearby areas. The citizens of Oran are separated from the outside world, and as the epidemic becomes worse, the government asks for mandatory quarantine and case reporting to control the spread. The two main characters, Dr. Rieux and Rambert reflect two opposing perspectives on the plague: one confronts suffering with a persistent reality, while the other shifts from pursuing personal happiness to embracing social responsibility. These two mindsets are consistent with Camus’ concept of absurdism, particularly in the instance of Dr. Rieux, who represents a paradoxical view of existence. He focuses not just on “do good” but, more importantly, focues on”not doing harm.”His viewpoint represents the concept that, while the universe lacks a fundamental purpose, humans must recognize this and live in contradiction of nonsense in order to achieve fulfillment. This article will examine how Dr. Rieux and Rambert represent two typical human responses to severe conditions, connect their acts to Anderson and Said’s ideas, and eventually make connections with recent world problems, including the COVID-19 epidemic.

Dr. Rieux is the major person in “The Plague”, responsible for responding to the outbreak in Oran. He is the first person to observe the unusual deaths of rats and an increase in human death cases, identifying the possible epidemic and contacting the government immediately. Dr. Rieux stands as a symbol of resilience and dedication during the crisis, continuing his work even while separated from his ailing wife, who is receiving treatment elsewhere. Although he does not believe that they have much chance to totally eradicate the plague, as he stated in a meeting with the health committee, he warns that infection sites are multiplying and the city may lose half its people within two months. He also points out that “Let’s just say we shouldn’t act as if half the city isn’t at risk of being killed because then it will be,” and “It’s not about painting a dark picture. It’s about taking precautions” to emphasize the importance of taking careful precautions and preventive measures(Camus, 2022). At the same time, Dr. Rieux proposes a paradoxical strategy for surviving in harsh situations, emphasizing “minimizing harm” above actively “doing good.” In “The Plague”, Rieux’s attempts to assist the ill are motivated by his honesty, strong sense of responsibility to mankind, and genuine compassion, rather than a desire for heroics. Even though he realizes that the epidemic may be unbeatable, he continues to treat patients daily because he cannot stand by and watch people suffer. His acts are based on realism which means even in a world filled with meaninglessness and anguish, his responsibility as a doctor is to relieve suffering.

Rambert is the second character I want to analyze, and he stands in stark contrast to Dr. Rieux. Unlike Rieux, Rambert is a journalist from outside Oran. At the beginning of the epidemic, his primary focus is on escaping the quarantined city so that he can reunite with his lover. He tried a few ways to leave, including requesting Dr. Rieux for a health certificate. He even corporate with Cottard who is driven by self-interest, seeking to prolong the plague for personal recognition and significance, simply because Rambert sees himself as an outsider, someone who doesn’t belong in Oran or in the fight against the plague. For Rambert, the greatest challenge posed by the plague is the forced separation from his lover. And, he is also a typical symbol of whom values love and relationships in the pandemic. In the end, He is unable to resist the innate human impulse for compassion and resistance and chooses to stay in the Oran and fight with other citizens. This change in Ramberts’ attitude is shown in the second paragraph of the book in the conversation between Dr.Rieux and him about love, duty, and heroism. Rambert is changing his mind from ”living and dying for what we love” to standing on the right side(Camus, 2022). Rambert’s change reflects how the majority of normal people respond to pandemics. People who are initially unconcerned or preoccupied with personal issues may attempt to avoid responsibilities. However, once the seriousness of the problem becomes clear, individuals frequently realize that involvement in collaborative activities is critical for the greater good.

Some points mentioned in the book, “The Plague”, could link to some opinions in “Imagined Communities” written by Benedict Anderson, and they both talk about the relationship between individuals and communities. In Anderson’s view, maps serve as more than just tools for navigation, they represent the creation of national identity and the consolidation of colonial authority. Colonialists used maps to solidify borders and recreate regions as part of a larger national vision. In “The Plague”, this notion is echoed in the quarantine, which forms a similar barrier around Oran, separating it both physically and mentally from the outside world. This forced division forces the city’s residents to reconsider their identity, in the same way that colonial maps altered colonized peoples’ self-image. Moreover, in “Imagined Communities”, Anderson posits that museums function as instruments of state power by preserving history to form collective memory and national identity. This concept is also shown in “The Plague”, where the epidemic serves as a metaphorical “museum of memory” for the people of Oran. The plague leaves a lasting impression on their collective consciousness, influencing how they perceive their city and community. Similar to how museums shape national identity through historical artifacts, the plague becomes a key historical moment that the citizens will collectively remember, contributing to their sense of identity and unity in the future.

Said’s “Orientalism” also incorporates some key elements from Camus’ “The Plague”, Said illustrates how the West views the East as a separate “other,” depicting it as inferior and in need of assistance, legitimizing their purpose of colonialism. Similarly, in the epidemic, Oran’s residents first saw the disease as an external matter, unrelated to their everyday lives. They dismiss it as a minor issue until it increases and threatens their own survival, compelling them to realize its brutal truth. In addition, Said examines how the West dominates the East through cultural and political narratives, portraying this control as a means of legitimizing colonial power. In The Plague, this notion is reflected in the power structures that arise when the government imposes stringent quarantines and limits Oran’s residents’ freedom. The epidemic’s reaction serves as a type of domination that Said associates with Western authority over the East, with the people’s destiny determined by external forces in both situations.

Related the book to COVID-19 in reality, “The Plague” delves into concepts that are deeply relevant to global crisis management, notably during the COVID-19 epidemic. One obvious similarity is the attitude of official epidemic prevention operations. In China, for example, as reported in the paper “COVID-19 pandemic in China: Context, experience, and lessons,” the country’s pandemic response occurred in three stages. The first stage stressed public health precautions such as hand washing, mask-wearing, and keeping at home; The second stage entailed severe interventions, which began on January 22, 2020; The third stage was a careful withdrawal plan, with China progressively easing restrictions starting in mid-March 2020 (Xu, Wu, and Cao, 2020). In the process of stage two, Wuhan, the heart of the outbreak, was placed under extreme lockdown, with only one person per home permitted to buy every three days.

However, there are some differences in the measures taken to combat COVID-19 and the plague. While COVID-19 responses made use of advanced technologies such as big data to monitor population movements and classify individuals via health apps, the epidemic in “The Plague” was addressed with far simpler measures like quarantines and city lockdowns. COVID-19 efforts also included telemedicine for milder cases, whereas The Plague presented no such modern interventions, with people relying instead on collective endurance and mutual aid.

Overall, Camus’ The Plague is more than just a story about an epidemic; it is a deep reflection on how humans respond to distress and uncertainty. Camus explores the conflict between personal enjoyment and societal obligation demonstrating the need for resilience and unity in the face of hardship. Connecting these themes to Anderson and Said’s ideas reveals how social institutions and power dynamics impact both individual and communal fates during crises. In reality, this story is also a reflection of real-life crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Work Cited

Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Verso Books, 2006.

163-185

Camus, Albert. The Plague: A new translation by Laura Marris. Vintage, 2022.

Macfie, Alexander Lyon. Orientalism. Edward Said, Latent &Manifest Orientalism

Routledge, 2014.

Xu, Weiwei, Jing Wu, and Lidan Cao. “COVID-19 pandemic in China: Context, experience and lessons.” Health policy and technology 9.4 (2020): 639-648.

About Youth Unemployment

Posted by Editor on May 31st, 2025

The issue of youth unemployment has been around for decades, but in recent years, it feels like it’s taken on a new level of urgency. Everywhere you look—whether it’s in developed countries with strong economies or in developing nations trying to grow—young people are struggling to find jobs that match their skills, education, or even their hopes. What makes this problem particularly worrying is that it doesn’t just affect individual lives; it shapes entire generations’ outlooks on stability, ambition, and trust in the system.

One reason youth unemployment has grown so widespread is the mismatch between education and the job market. Schools and universities often emphasize theory, while employers look for experience. You can have a degree, sometimes even an advanced one, but still not qualify for a job because you’ve never “done it” in the real world. That’s a frustrating paradox—how are you supposed to gain experience if nobody hires you in the first place? In some places, this has led to what people call “over-education but underemployment,” where graduates end up working in positions far below their skill level or outside their field entirely.

Technology has also made things more complicated. On one hand, it’s opened up new industries—think of app development, e-commerce, or digital marketing—that didn’t exist twenty years ago. But it’s also made some traditional jobs obsolete. Automation and artificial intelligence are replacing tasks that used to be done by entry-level workers. Companies can run with fewer employees, and that usually means young people, who are just entering the workforce, have fewer spots available. The result is a strange contradiction: there are more career options than ever before, yet finding a good one feels harder than ever.

Economic uncertainty plays another big part. Events like the COVID-19 pandemic have thrown entire job markets off balance. Industries such as tourism, hospitality, and retail—where young people often find their first jobs—were hit the hardest. Even as economies reopen, companies are cautious about hiring. They want to cut costs and avoid taking risks, and that means fewer opportunities for recent graduates. In countries with weak social safety nets, this can push young people into unstable or informal jobs, gig work, or even unemployment that lasts years.

But beyond the numbers and statistics, youth unemployment takes a toll on people’s sense of purpose. It can feel deeply personal. For many young adults, work isn’t just a paycheck—it’s about independence, identity, and belonging. When that’s missing, it can lead to anxiety, frustration, or even social unrest. Some young people respond by moving abroad, chasing opportunities in other countries; others try to create their own, starting small businesses or freelancing online. In that sense, this generation is also incredibly resourceful and adaptable, finding new paths even when the old ones are blocked.

There’s no single fix to this problem, but a few ideas could help. Schools could partner more closely with industries to offer practical experience early on—internships, apprenticeships, and hands-on projects. Governments could invest in green jobs, creative industries, and tech training to match the future economy. And maybe, as a society, we need to rethink what “success” looks like for young people—not just a 9-to-5 job, but meaningful work that allows them to grow, contribute, and live with dignity.

Youth unemployment might be a global issue, but it’s also a personal one that affects millions of individual stories. The challenge for our generation isn’t just finding jobs—it’s redefining what work means in a world that’s changing faster than ever.

Andrew Ohn