* Large rise/drop in those not wanting vs wanting kids since 2018 for the under-50 crowd (10% and 11%, respectively)
* 57% of the under-50 just don't want kids. The second is much the same ("focus on other things" 44%). You have to get to the third and fourth reason before external factors come in ("Concerns about the world" 38%, "Can't Afford" 36%) and "concerns about the environment" comes in a distant 5th at 26%
* Both under-50 and over-50 who don't/didn't have kids have very positive feelings about it, until it comes to interacting with friends with kids. A full third of respondents report positive job and career outcomes without kids.
* A whopping 2/3rds of over-50 have nieces and nephews, which fill the gap for kids.
* "About a third of older adults without kids say they, rather than a sibling, would provide more care for their parents."
* "78% of single adults under 50 who say they're unlikely to have kids report that this hasn't impacted their dating life."
careerism. the returns to delaying family formation in terms of income nave never been greater . The ROI of careerism needs to fall for this to change.
From my perspective, it's the instability of the world. From market crashes to pandemics and now politics, I have no clue what kind of world I'm bringing new life into, so it gets deprioritized severely. It's something like the Maslow hierarchy of needs, and having a child is at the very top.
Economics are a component in some cohorts, but only one piece of the puzzle.
https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/07/25/the-exp... ("57% of adults under 50 who say they’re unlikely to ever have kids say a major reason is they just don’t want to; 31% of those ages 50 and older without kids cite this as a reason they never had them")
> current economics cause a lack of stability for people to move forward in their lives
All of our data points in the opposite direction. The more wealth you have, and the more stability you have with government safety nets, the less likely you are to have children.
True, but birthrates start to go back up once you get into very elite quantities. The proles have kids, and the empire-builders have kids. The professionals in the middle don't.
Believe it or not, there are people (myself included) who _actively decide_ to "move forward in their lives" without children for reasons having nothing to do with economics or stability. Some of us _don't want_ children.
I did! I know I'd be terrible for them, I'd argue it's for all of our benefit.
Being realistic, I like the idea of a family, but I don't want it.
I grew up poor without much in the way of parents. I'm now well off, but broken. For better or worse I've perfected self-sufficiency.
Were I to start a family, what follows is worse than where things are now. More neglect, anger, and frustration. The best thing I think I can do is stop the cycle.
It would be foolish pride or hubris to think I'd be a better parent. Others will have to create more worker bees.
I don't want to sustain this hive; it already failed me. Solid 1/5 star rating. It can burn. I'm playing through.
https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/07/25/the-exp...
Some immediate things that jump out at me:
* Large rise/drop in those not wanting vs wanting kids since 2018 for the under-50 crowd (10% and 11%, respectively)
* 57% of the under-50 just don't want kids. The second is much the same ("focus on other things" 44%). You have to get to the third and fourth reason before external factors come in ("Concerns about the world" 38%, "Can't Afford" 36%) and "concerns about the environment" comes in a distant 5th at 26%
* Both under-50 and over-50 who don't/didn't have kids have very positive feelings about it, until it comes to interacting with friends with kids. A full third of respondents report positive job and career outcomes without kids.
* A whopping 2/3rds of over-50 have nieces and nephews, which fill the gap for kids.
* "About a third of older adults without kids say they, rather than a sibling, would provide more care for their parents."
* "78% of single adults under 50 who say they're unlikely to have kids report that this hasn't impacted their dating life."