Earlier quoted context omitted.
If your parents were deciding right now if they wanted to create you or not, would you tell them that you do not want to exist?
Yes. Would have caused less pain on both sides.
Really sorry to read that, pretty sad.
The global fertility rate is falling
861–870 of 881 posts
Re: The global fertility rate is falling
#862Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’ve been thinking about this and I feel like society characterises some acts as selfless (I.e. having children, marrying your ‘soulmate’)....when really it’s all about people wanting something for themselves....
Characterizing something that involves massive sacrifices and giving up a lot of freedom as "people wanting something for themselves" is pretty ridiculous edgy-teenager thinking.
why are the two things mutually exclusive? :
- 1. getting some you want for yourself (i.e. the security of marriage or having children)
And
- 2. Giving up personal freedoms and sacrifices
Many famous people, for instance in sports or the sciences, have literally climbed mountains with great personal sacrifice all while pursuing personal happiness/life goals... in my mind, real heroes are those that don’t want to do something but do it anyway because they believe it’s the right thing to do...I’m not sure this applies to most fiancés or parents-to-be in the west. To think otherwise is childish teenage thinking...because that’s how were indoctrinated as kids in the west. I mean just watch Disney movies...
Re: The global fertility rate is falling
#863Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do believe it is an economic problem, in that people are not secure in their job, housing, and life enough to bring new people into it. Think Maslow's wotsit of needs. And I think back on where I grew up, what my parents did; they got married early 20's, and were financially secure enough in blue-collar jobs to afford a house twice the size of the one I managed to finally buy at age 32. With that house and the luxu…
This is the main reason I never want kids. I'm just not sure I'll ever be secure enough while young enough to really care for them. Student loans being the main killer; if I could get rid of them and buy a house, things might be different. But, more than that, I'm also not sure if I'll ever be secure enough to make sure they're secure in the future that seems inevitably coming, with regards to global warming, etc. I…
In India, student loans have mainly been in demand from people seeking an MS degree in the US. But things are changing, and education is getting more expensive across the board, and I do worry about my kids. My immediate reaction right now is to save enough fuck-you money for my kids so that they don't have to get into the education rat race at all. I don't know how that will work, if at all, but that's the best I can do. If they choose to spend the money I saved on expensive degrees, I hope collectively as a family, we know what we are getting into.
Re: The global fertility rate is falling
#864Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is the one thing people seem to forget; people who work in places like nursing homes rarely do so because they have a dream of wiping old people's asses for a living. Instead, they do it because they need the money. In a society where there are plenty of other well-paying jobs to be had, working at a nursing home won't be the popular choice. I expect the future to be interesting.
Some people have vocation for taking care of the old and the sick. Yes, they do it for the money, but they could have chosen something else, and yet they chose nursing because to them it is rewarding. Job satisfaction and doing good things for others are very important indicators for happiness.
Definitely. The people who want to work in nursing homes are probably outnumbered by the people that have to, however, and once the others leave, others will too, simply because the job will become unbearable. Combine that with increased numbers of retirees and fewer potential employees, and things could turn ugly real fast.
Personally, I'm preparing for a future where a nursing home isn't an option. Just in case.
Re: The global fertility rate is falling
#865It is disturbing that people take for granted that this is an economic problem. This thread is full of people lamenting the fact that we could support X times as many people as we do now if we all just sacrifice Y. When I look around the world today, I think the biggest resource that is lacking is economic opportunity. Huge swathes of people are desperate, angry, and depressed, I think because there is no opportunity…
I do believe it is an economic problem, in that people are not secure in their job, housing, and life enough to bring new people into it. Think Maslow's wotsit of needs. And I think back on where I grew up, what my parents did; they got married early 20's, and were financially secure enough in blue-collar jobs to afford a house twice the size of the one I managed to finally buy at age 32. With that house and the luxu…
The correlation goes the other way. The poorer the country the more children people tend to have.
Re: The global fertility rate is falling
#866Earlier quoted context omitted.
It doesn't need to be broached. It's obvious.
It's also obvious that some people have had great experiences with kids, yet someone posts it anyways, because this is a discussion forum where we share ideas, question and provide couterpoints. When someone posts a sentimental story as a singular data point on why kids are great, and follows it with a recommendation on having kids, they should expect feedback of all sorts, no?
I find adversarial pedantry much more common than opening up about deep emotional experience, in general, and the latter is way more informative. I don't care that you can say, "not true 100% of the time, QED." Yes, ok, well done. I couldn't possibly have realised that on my own. So glad you have now stifled any emotional depth that the conversation was taking on.
Re: The global fertility rate is falling
#867Earlier quoted context omitted.
The transition from 2B to 7.8B was also kind of fast: 90 years. The exponential growth we've seen recently is unique in human existence. Before the last several centuries human population growth was much slower. In fact, it seems unlikely that population growth will become that slow again without some sort of disaster scenario.
So this is slightly misleading as well, because it's a geometric curve upwards. The 'inflection point' you're really looking for is the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. But at least in that capacity - we know what happened: we harnessed energy and could provide for the material wellbeing of huge numbers of people, which can have it's downsides, but it's not all bad. Better 'more' than risking plunging towards nothi…
unknown reasons
People who don't want to have a bunch of kids, don't. Does it have to be more complicated than that? Unless everyone makes this decision (which seems unlikely to me although that could just be because I have ten nieces and nephews) it's basically a self-correcting "problem". People who don't reproduce are replaced in the next generation by the offspring of people who do reproduce.
Re: The global fertility rate is falling
#868Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do believe it is an economic problem, in that people are not secure in their job, housing, and life enough to bring new people into it. Think Maslow's wotsit of needs. And I think back on where I grew up, what my parents did; they got married early 20's, and were financially secure enough in blue-collar jobs to afford a house twice the size of the one I managed to finally buy at age 32. With that house and the luxu…
The correlation goes the other way. The poorer the country the more children people tend to have.
"A nyomor nyomort szül" - Poverty breeds poverty - Hungarian proverb
Re: The global fertility rate is falling
#869Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have two daughters, in their teens, and both have said that they are not interested in having children. I'm glad that they are giving both thought and pause here, but I'm also secretly hoping that they change their minds when the time is right for them. I'd be happy with and without grandchildren, but it would be incredible to be able to give all of the love that I can when I am retired, when I have less going on i…
May I suggest you consider fostering a child? Or spending more time as an educator of some sort (through teaching, mentoring, etc.)? There are definitely ways for you to give love to a younger generation that does not involve your daughters decision to have children or not.
Yes, I've certainly considered it.. but I still have some time there. My oldest is only 16, and her decisions now are certainly not indelible.
Re: The global fertility rate is falling
#870It is disturbing that people take for granted that this is an economic problem. This thread is full of people lamenting the fact that we could support X times as many people as we do now if we all just sacrifice Y. When I look around the world today, I think the biggest resource that is lacking is economic opportunity. Huge swathes of people are desperate, angry, and depressed, I think because there is no opportunity…
i think what will actually happen is that rich countries are gonna move ahead with robotics, additive manufacturing and nano
and countries that cant keep up will be left behind with starving useless populations
bonus points: theres gonna be severe fresh water shortage