How old will I once be?

New app "A Life Journey" is playfully explain demographic relationships
"Germans are getting older and older". "The Germans are dying out". "By 2050, ten billion people will live on Earth." Everyone has heard these or similar statements before. Otherwise, demographics are a sealed book for most people. The app "A Life Journey" wants to change that and has set itself the task of creating a better understanding of demographic issues. This is reported by the Max Planck Society in a recent release.

The app "A Life Journey" consists of ten thematic complexes, each of which is divided into several sub-items. Issues addressed include how an aging society works, whether there is a recipe for healthy aging, or what are the chances of becoming 100 years old. In addition to short information texts and vivid graphics, each focal point also contains an interactive function. For example, users of the app can calculate their life expectancy or simulate how their face might look in old age.

How old are the Germans? Image: JenkoAtaman - fotolia

The app is based on the traveling exhibition "How to get to 100 - and enjoy it," a joint project by Population Europe, the Max Planck Society, the ESRC Research Center for Population Change, which will be held in more than 20 European cities from 2013 to 2016 Stop. Visitors had the opportunity to receive additional information about a specific exhibit via iPad. These digital works were later used for the app.

The app was developed by the science network "Population Europe" in Berlin, which is managed by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) based in Rostock. Responsible was Andreas Edel, researcher at MPIDR and Executive Secretary of "Population Europe". "Demographics affect us all," he says, pointing to demographic change that has long since become reality. Edel also fights against the prejudice that demographics is just about tedious statistics. "Demography is very lifelike, it deals with topics that are essential for all of our life planning," he says.

The aim of the "Population Europe" network is to make current research results from demography comprehensible to the general public. Scientists from all over Europe work together, which is why the app can be used in ten different languages. It is currently available for iPhone and iPad. In the long term, however, the content should also be displayed on a new website.

In addition to "A Life Journey", the researchers at Population Europe have already put together school curricula that are freely available on the homepage www.population-europe.eu. The offer is rounded off with videos, graphics and further links on the subject of population development and demography. (sb, pm)