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Why Gen Z doesn't want kids - we are living out a fantasy of eternal youth

unherd.com

11–20 of 27 posts

Re: Why Gen Z doesn't want kids - we are living out a fantasy of eternal youth

#13
post #4

> Perhaps the only way to make this inevitable tide of pressure and debate work for us is first to recognise it as a collective issue, then to push for a system which does not actively punish women for having children: affordable childcare so that we do not face a career cliff edge; affordable housing so that settling down seems even remotely possible. There it is - Gen Z simply can't afford to have children. Student…

Yes, I look at kids today and I can't imagine what their life will look like in a decade or two. I was very pessimistic in 2014 and here in 2024, I can't believe how much worse things are than I imagined back then. Political dysfunction is obvious, and the financialization of every aspect of life crept up faster than I could have imagined. And climate change is hitting faster than I thought it would while we ever inc…

I'm hoping for super-sentient robots, that, with any luck, will remember us fondly.

They'll be able to survive on a hot Earth, and frankly, they could survive on the Moon and Mars much easier than we can. They're also capable of interstellar travel.

Hopefully they won't pick up where we left off and soon destroy themselves too. They will be humankind's legacy.

I look at it as the purpose, if you will, of our species is to build that which cannot evolve.

Re: Why Gen Z doesn't want kids - we are living out a fantasy of eternal youth

#14
post #8
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry but what relevance is this to the article?

It's my eternal retort to Unherd's conservative-bloc opinion pieces that wind up on this site. They will blame everything except the economy; parents, kids, pavlovian response, inherited habits, queer sensibility, conservative grit, drug addicts, city planners, farmers, communists, futurists, luddites, terrorism, journalism, therapists, athletes, aliens, politicians, rebels, reformists, radicals and apparently, apath…

Did you actually read the article?

Re: Why Gen Z doesn't want kids - we are living out a fantasy of eternal youth

#15
post #14
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's my eternal retort to Unherd's conservative-bloc opinion pieces that wind up on this site. They will blame everything except the economy; parents, kids, pavlovian response, inherited habits, queer sensibility, conservative grit, drug addicts, city planners, farmers, communists, futurists, luddites, terrorism, journalism, therapists, athletes, aliens, politicians, rebels, reformists, radicals and apparently, apath…

Did you actually read the article?

I did. The article blames literally everything but socioeconomics, and then instead of blaming the economy they say it's a social problem that must be legislated to get fixed. It is the same dog-and-pony opinion column they've paraded out for the past 2 years.

It's why I'm shocked anyone would even submit this, except to make people angry. There's a reason Unherd articles always get flagged; they very often violate the HN guidelines.

Re: Why Gen Z doesn't want kids - we are living out a fantasy of eternal youth

#16
post #4

> Perhaps the only way to make this inevitable tide of pressure and debate work for us is first to recognise it as a collective issue, then to push for a system which does not actively punish women for having children: affordable childcare so that we do not face a career cliff edge; affordable housing so that settling down seems even remotely possible. There it is - Gen Z simply can't afford to have children. Student…

Everyone says money is the reason other people won't have kids. When I ask them what % raise they'd need before they have one themselves, I tend to get either ridiculous numbers ($500k a year!!!) or non-monetary reasons why they won't/can't have them.

More money makes life more easy, but I get the sense that money has little to do with birth rates. After all, the poorest people in your city, state, country, and planet are the ones having the most children.

Re: Why Gen Z doesn't want kids - we are living out a fantasy of eternal youth

#17
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you actually read the article?

I did. The article blames literally everything but socioeconomics, and then instead of blaming the economy they say it's a social problem that must be legislated to get fixed. It is the same dog-and-pony opinion column they've paraded out for the past 2 years. It's why I'm shocked anyone would even submit this, except to make people angry. There's a reason Unherd articles always get flagged; they very often violate t…

> The article blames literally everything but socioeconomics

You may have skipped past this paragraph:

"Yet radical pro-natalism is only going to grow as motherhood, an ancient political battleground, is electrified by the ever more frightening socioeconomic outlook. Perhaps the only way to make this inevitable tide of pressure and debate work for us is first to recognise it as a collective issue, then to push for a system which does not actively punish women for having children: affordable childcare so that we do not face a career cliff edge; affordable housing so that settling down seems even remotely possible."

Given the very short amount of time between my post and your comment, it's clear you must have written your retort without having read the article.

Re: Why Gen Z doesn't want kids - we are living out a fantasy of eternal youth

#18
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you actually read the article?

I did. The article blames literally everything but socioeconomics, and then instead of blaming the economy they say it's a social problem that must be legislated to get fixed. It is the same dog-and-pony opinion column they've paraded out for the past 2 years. It's why I'm shocked anyone would even submit this, except to make people angry. There's a reason Unherd articles always get flagged; they very often violate t…

> they say it's a social problem that must be legislated to get fixed

Where did they say this?

Re: Why Gen Z doesn't want kids - we are living out a fantasy of eternal youth

#20
post #4

> Perhaps the only way to make this inevitable tide of pressure and debate work for us is first to recognise it as a collective issue, then to push for a system which does not actively punish women for having children: affordable childcare so that we do not face a career cliff edge; affordable housing so that settling down seems even remotely possible. There it is - Gen Z simply can't afford to have children. Student…

Everyone says money is the reason other people won't have kids. When I ask them what % raise they'd need before they have one themselves, I tend to get either ridiculous numbers ($500k a year!!!) or non-monetary reasons why they won't/can't have them. More money makes life more easy, but I get the sense that money has little to do with birth rates. After all, the poorest people in your city, state, country, and plane…

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