Several different trends seem to be converging on this one moment. I actually have links and stories and some research on almost all these trends, but I want to spare you a bunch of links and just kinda trace the 35,000-foot of what’s going on before we get deeper into it. Let’s try that.
First things first: generally I think we know the world is a graying society, meaning more older than young, but that’s especially true in a series of industrialized, “first-world” countries.
Second thing: the fertility rate is dropping. It’s still above replacement in that I think it’s 2.1 kids per couple (or per woman) in the U.S., but 2.1 is dangerously close to under-replacement. If you look at “births per 1,000 women” numbers, that’s really in decline. In 1960 in the U.S., I believe that was about 120–130. Now it’s 50–60. There’s a lot of reasons for the fertility decline, including people getting married later, more health concerns, more economic realities, microplastics, etc.
Third: any decline in children creates an ideological moral panic because, to be honest, we love babies. Some of us love those babies because they’re cute and do Instagrammy things, and some of us love them because they represent a future tax base. Regardless, we do enjoy babies.
Fourth: this has created a whole offshoot of the culture wars where people are screaming about “DINKs” (dual income no kids), claiming those people are selfish, when in reality a lot of people with 3–4 kids are the epitome of selfish, and in reality a lot of “DINKs” aren’t always there by choice.
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