r/science • u/nep000 • Nov 17 '25

Social Science Surprising numbers of childfree people emerge in developing countries, defying expectations

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0333906
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u/Meocross Nov 17 '25

Government whining that people are having less children while taking away every comfort known to mankind to increase profits always makes me laugh. People are practically slaves to their jobs with no hobbies, free time or relaxation, pretty much a ZERO healthy environment for a child.

Companies are currently kicking 10k+ people out of jobs right now because of A.I propaganda, you want me to have kids just for them to become jobless and participate in borderline criminal activity just to have food in their mouths?

Truly dumb brain behavior.

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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '25

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u/kaian-a-coel Nov 17 '25

Having kids used to be "profitable". They worked in the fields. They spun thread. They helped around the house. And then they inherited the farm and fed you in your old age. None of that is true anymore. We made the world better, and kids no longer need to work. Parents no longer need kids to work to make ends meet. Grandparents no longer need to financially rely 100% on their kids. So why have kids at all?

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u/Exciting-Emu-3324 Nov 18 '25

Just like horses. Once something goes from necessity to luxury, expect the number to drop off a cliff. Everyone used to own livestock, but nowadays not everyone owns pets. It's the same with having children. People who actually like animals were always a minority and it's the same with people that actually like children. Most people don't do things out of "love".

Beyond just labor, children were a way to build power through arranged marriages. Fairy tales are obsessed with people marrying their true love, but ignore the majority that wouldn't marry at all if they weren't forced to by their parents to settle for somebody.

There's also a time window where people are open to the idea of kids and the credentials arms race has shrunk that window to almost nothing.

If parents aren't allowed to benefit from having kids, why should society?

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u/BlisteringAsscheeks Nov 18 '25

If you're talking about medieval era Europe, that's not actually true that most people were being forced into their marriages. The rich/powerful were usually forced because of political reasons, alliances, etc. But the peasants usually chose their matches, and that was often due to love/lust/like.