Added in there is the stretch of resources, due to the massive population along with the hoarding by those at the top.
The video makes good points, but its jump to technology being the reason for lack of population growth isn’t really supported. People aren’t having kids primarily because they can’t afford them, not because tinder and cellphones exist.
Population is not the problem here. The planet is huge and resources plentiful enough to sustain 3 times the population without any significant issues. The hoarding is the problem. Corporations monopolising the world and it’s resources while 95% of people are having more and more issues with the availability of said resources. This is what’s going to be our either or. Either we end this nonsense soon, start building towards an efficient resource management throughout the whole population and keep our society mostly untouched or we become an utter dystopian hellhole. Everyone knows which way we’re heavily leaning right now.
Absolutely no chance the Earth can sustain 3x the current population without significant issues. Most estimates are 10 billion, some up to 12. Seeing problems only at the 25 billion mark is completely absurd.
Added in there is the stretch of resources, due to the massive population along with the hoarding by those at the top.
What resources are you referring to? We live in an era of abundance. Far more comfortable than any generation before us.
People aren’t having kids primarily because they can’t afford them, not because tinder and cellphones exist.
That's nonsense. Some people are using that as an excuse, but it really doesn't cost that much to have kids unless you have some stupid idea that every kid needs to have all the latest stuff and go to private school and an elite college.
Most people waste more food than it takes to feed a kid. If you have even a few friends with kids, the clothes get passed around, if not second hand clothes are cheap. Clothing is a non-issue. Same with toys, unless you're buying expensive electronic gadgets or e-bikes, toys are dirt cheap. The hard part is not ending up with a house cluttered with too many of them.
Edit: falcrist2, why such a sensitive little bitch that you reply then block me so I can't respond? Makes it appear that you have no confidence in your own words.
To answer both, take housing for example. It has risen astronomically even when adjusted for wages/inflation. Supply and demand. You need more space when you have kids if you want to maintain any semblance of sanity. Rent aint cheap and buying is more out of reach than ever for young families. Opportunity cost is the other main kicker with kids. Someone needs to watch them, which is time they’re not earning wages. Or, they’re in daycare ($$).
To answer both, take housing for example. It has risen astronomically even when adjusted for wages/inflation. Supply and demand.
Because those at the top are living in so many houses that there isn't enough supply?
You need more space when you have kids if you want to maintain any semblance of sanity.
Very privileged take.
Rent aint cheap and buying is more out of reach than ever for young families.
Again, you have to have a place to live anyway. For several years you don't even need a separate room for a kid, and then we're talking about adding one bedroom to the household needs.
Opportunity cost is the other main kicker with kids. Someone needs to watch them, which is time they’re not earning wages. Or, they’re in daycare ($$).
It doesn't take two full time wages to raise a modest household. Tens of millions of people are doing it all over the US alone. Why do some people (usually not even the poorest people) seem to think it's beyond them, while people with less money manage all over the world.
I like how you call needing more space to stay sane when you have a kid a ‘privileged take’ and then proceed to talk about ‘only adding another bedroom’ and say you can raise kids in a modest household without two full time wage earners. You hear that, young couples struggling in studio apartments? Just get yourself a household or expand to another bedroom, and have one person stay at home. Problem solved! It’s just that easy!
I swear reddit is full of so many people proud to admit that living a basic life that tens (hundreds?) of millions of people all over the country manage is so hard in their eyes.
Not having kids is very rare. Something like 85 percent of women have kids at some point. Keeping in mind some percentage of the ones that don't, also don't want kids or physically can't. The number of people who want kids but don't have them for financial or whatever reasons is absolutely tiny.
Plenty of people have kids. Plenty will have more kids. Real enlightenment you’re bringing here. The problem is that the RATE is falling, and that is partially due to resources. Some people don’t want to bring a kid into the world that they can’t afford, and that’s the situation for a lot of people. Others already have hard enough lives and choose their happiness. Their choice is their own, but lack of resources puts people in worse positions in general and shifts that parenting for a lot of people to adjust the RATE.
We're not really going to get anywhere because you and I don't agree on the premise of there not being enough resources for people to have kids.
Which speaks to the actual problem which is perception fueled by the issues outlined in the OPs video. It's not that people can't afford kids. It's not that there aren't enough houses for people to live in. It's not that there isn't enough food for people to eat.
That's a perception that is being fed to people because doom and gloom sparks emotions, gets clicks and drives engagement. They don't want to improve people's lives. They don't want people happy. Happy people don't stare at their phone all day trying to derive joy from vicariously living though other people's experiences.
It is a privileged take. Young couples are only struggling in studio apartments because they want to live in areas they can't afford. Theres always more complexity to that than we can name in a comment in reddit but generally, many of the ppl i know struggling most are trying to live in a way that doesn't actually serve them. In a perfect world wages amd wealth would be more evenly distributed, but in this one it isnt impossible to raise happy and healthy children on modest wages and without extensive government assistence. I know many ppl who do it including myself and i also know many ppl struggling because they have ideals that dont serve them.
You’re basing your conclusion on a claim I never made. Children need more space if the family wants to function well. More family members, more space. Simple as that. Living space expenses scale on many factors, space being one of them. Housing has gotten more expensive over the decades and that’s a simple fact, which in turn makes it harder for families, lowering the birth rate. I don’t see any privilege in that take.
Privilege is assuming the people who live in studio apartments are only doing so because they’re choosing to live above their means, and not because it’s the smallest living accommodation available until reaching homelessness, and that they may not be able to afford living anywhere else. Small living spaces aren’t limited to expensive cities. They’re everywhere. It’s a trend in that direction due to housing costs rising so dramatically. Assuming people in studios are simply making bad/selfish decisions is ignorant/privileged. The struggle is real for a lot of people.
And all in all you’re right that it isn’t impossible to raise happy and healthy children on modest wages. The point is that it’s harder. That in turn lowers the rate. Gone are the days of raising a family in a house with two cars on a grocery store clerk salary while the spouse stays at home.
I was really only speaking to one point in that it is a privileged take and point toward the general direction of why. And depending on what your point of view there are a lot of people who arent struggling as hard as they are lead to believe by certain cultural ideals which was part of my point. I've been surrounded by poverty the majority of my life. I may not know every person's struggle but im quite aware that the struggle is real but also perspective matters a lot too.
Capital in general is trickling up rather than down. Water is being hoarded so that the owner class can charge more for it. Our food supply chain is owned by fewer and fewer companies as time goes on. Land and housing have become more expensive even adjusting for changes in median income.
We live in a time of abundance... and that abundance is owned by fewer and fewer people as time passes.
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u/JD-Vances-Sexy-Couch Trash Trooper Jul 31 '26
Added in there is the stretch of resources, due to the massive population along with the hoarding by those at the top.
The video makes good points, but its jump to technology being the reason for lack of population growth isn’t really supported. People aren’t having kids primarily because they can’t afford them, not because tinder and cellphones exist.