Fertility 'is the problem of the 21st century,' one expert said
‘DINK’ on cultural shift toward child-free lifestyle, says older generation ‘narrow-minded’ for criticisms
A personal finance TikToker dismissed claims that not having kids leads to a meaningless life, and explains why more young couples are choosing a child-free life.
A sizable percentage of young Americans aren't planning to have kids, often citing concerns about finances, according to data published this week. The news comes amid reports of a worsening fertility crisis and a declining birthrate.
More prospective parents are now choosing between having children and financial stability, opting for the latter, according to the latest data from the Consumer Spending & Saving Index from MassMutual. Nearly a quarter, 23%, of Millennials and Gen Z who do not have children say they are not planning to become parents because of financial reasons.
In addition, 31% of Millennials and Gen Z respondents who said they don't plan on becoming parents attributed it to the state of the social and political world, according to the data. Over 40% of respondents said they couldn't have children at the expense of their financial freedom.
"With today’s financial stressors, it is understandable why there is a growing trend among young adults to prioritize financial security over parenthood," Paul LaPiana, head of brand, product and affiliated distribution with MassMutual said of the data. "This shift reflects a broader understanding of the importance of financial stability and independence in achieving long-term goals that every generation must reckon with."
The news comes on the heels of data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that showed the general fertility rate decreased 3% from 2022 to 2023. In addition, the number of births has declined 17% and the general fertility rate has declined 21% from 2007 to 2023.
The trend exhibited by the Mass Mutual data is in line with a Pew Research Center survey from July, which found nearly 50% of childless adults under 50 aren’t likely to become parents. The number rose 10 percentage points between 2018 and 2023, from 37% to 47%, according to the survey.
Over 31% of Millennials and Gen Z respondents who said they don't plan on becoming parents (iStock)
Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde, a professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania who has researched the global fertility crisis, told Fox News Digital that by his calculations, the world population is already reproducing at less than the replacement rate.
The replacement level is accepted as 2.1 children per woman, where if it is any higher, the population grows and if it is any lower, the population shrinks. Villaverde has also looked at the link between society's reproduction level and the fertility rate.
In 2021, the average fertility of the world’s population stood at 2.3 births per woman over a lifetime, according to the United Nations World Population Prospects. That number is projected to decline to 2.1 births per woman by 2050. But, at present rates, Villaverde predicts the human population will peak in around 30 years, then start plummeting.
"The world population is still going to grow for another 30 to 35 years because life expectancy has gone up very fast," he explained. "This is called the momentum effect. But despite this momentum effect, by 2055 the world population will start going down and this is going to be truly, truly a game changer. Personally, I think it is by far the most important problem that humankind is facing right now."
"That basically means that for the first time in 2023, humankind is probably not replacing itself in terms of children," he continued. "This is the first time that this has happened in our history as a species. The consequences of this are going to be so absolutely momentous, an absolute game changer in our circles, everything in life."
Economists have long predicted fertility rates would decline as countries became wealthier, but the fall over the past decade in not just rich, but middle-income and poor countries has happened at a faster rate than previously predicted, Villaverde said.
Over 40% of respondents said they wouldn't be able to have children at the expense of their financial freedom. (iStock)
"Fertility has dropped all across the world in absolutely pretty much every country one can imagine; rich countries, poor countries, secular countries, religious countries, progressive countries, conservative countries," he said. "Not only has it fallen, which a lot of demographers and economists like me had forecast, but it has fallen much faster than anyone anticipated."
In addition to financial woes, Villaverde also said the social norms of many cultures have moved away from the importance of children and family, which has led to a growing number of people who just don't want to have kids at all.
He argues that societal changes like safer streets would allow children to spend more time unsupervised and travel to school on their own, which would in turn ease the burden on parents. Otherwise, parents are responsible for their kids 24 hours a day.
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Parents "can't have three or four kids when their after-school activities become a full-time job," one expert told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
"We have what I think is this insane obsession with post-school activities," he said. "We take the kid out of school at 3:00, then piano, then dancing, then football. If you don't have your kid entertained for the next six hours, then she or he will not have everything [they need] to go to a top college."
He also predicts that as the population declines, hundreds of schools, universities, hospitals and grocery stores, both in big cities and rural areas, will be forced to close. As a result, the American population wouldn't be able to pay for Social Security, Medicare, the public debt or the military. Additionally, citizens wouldn't have easy access to everyday necessities, like food.
"If the population drops below some level in a rural area, the main problem is that the local supermarket closes, and then you are going to find yourself in a situation where there is no supermarket to buy a bottle of milk, which could be 50 miles from where you live," he said. "Then, you need to drive one hour just to get milk. The cost would be just humongous."
Villaverde said that, of course, no one should be forced into having kids, but encouraged policies that foster communities where people want to have more children.
"I really think that right now, people are having fewer kids than they would like to have," he said.
Kendall Tietz is a writer with Fox News Digital.
