The irreversible smart phones and world’s dropping birth rates
By Gwynne Dyer - Smart phones seem to be directly linked to a worldwide crash in the birth rate. It is “quite plausible that the modern digital media environment has had profound effects on society that have led to a decline in romantic coupling,” according to Melissa Kearney, professor of economics at the University of Notre Dame.
It's not news and clearly there are other factors where phones are a symptom rather than a cause, a symptom of having nothing better to do perhaps. Whatever the cause, as a global issue it's a far more serious than climate change, but compared to climate change it lacks funding, drama and political appeal.
There are many other factors in play, of course: the unavailability/unaffordability of housing that forces many people in their 20s to live with their parents, the unrealistic expectations promoted by online influencers, and even the growing scarcity of entry-level jobs.
But the most persuasive (and irreversible) is phones, phones, phones.
6 comments:
Dropping birth rates may well cause short term problems. But many fewer people must surely reduce anthropomorphic pollution, reduce demand for fossil fuels, and create jobs?
You would have thought politicians would have welcomed dropping birth rates - unless they see the opportunities for tax farming vanish...
DJ - there will be problems though, such as too many pensioners, too many old people in care homes and a shortage of people at the age which sustains current levels of consumption. Another problem may be failure to reverse the decline, as without that it will go on and on.
Too many pensioners (including me) and too many old people in care homes, agreed. But that 'bulge' in numbers is already leaving the population. In any event a touch of AI and robotics could help reduce the impact.
Sustained levels of consumption may reduce in the longer term, but there will be fewer firms and workers too. But significantly less opportunity for taxation.
And will we really need such numbers of MPs and Civil Servants if there are fewer people?
DJ - that's my optimistic for the sake of the grandkids outlook. Fingers crossed.
1970ish, we were told that we were heading for another ice age, anthropogenic of course, and Global overpopulation.
50ish years later we are heading for Climate Catastrophe, the Doom formally known as Global Warming, anthropogenic of course, and Global depopulation.
The next generation will, by natural selection, be those who really do like shagging the real opposite sex, and do not worry about what the Climate will be one Human generation later.
I hope.
Doonhamer - I hope so too, natural selection selects and the loons or at least the really loony loons fade away from human history.
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