Failure to see this as much greater than petty competition between genders indicates an incredibly poor understanding of the basic human need for connectedness, on both practical/existential levels + subsequent impact on individual/societal well-being when connections fall apart.
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@amymastrine i don’t think fewer families is actually a problem in the overall sense. Our population sure isn’t in trouble. Categorizing these things as an problem is what seems to be the real problem. It seems to me the people having kids are a lot more conscious.
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I think fewer families could be a problem in the overall sense for the basic reason that life w/o meaning or connection to others/community is the most obvious cause of depression. Families are good for connection & children are good at providing a sense of purpose.
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Sure, humans have plenty of other options for having these needs met, but few are proactive about exploring them, especially if already unfulfilled. Chasing a fancy career might feel exciting in your 20s; population-wise, the vast majority hate their work & find no meaning.
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This is a problem for women more than men, obviously, because fertility.
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But also, undoubtedly, as someone who has always earned more than my male counterparts in relationship, i think this is also partly about the feminist movement and being a career oriented gal with a degree in comp sci in 1991. Very progressive.
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Ya- I think women of your generation got the short of the stick in some ways. 😞 The internet changes everything. I can realistically imagine having children AND some kind of part-time, remote career w/o having to be away from them 40+ hrs/wk. That wasn’t always an option.
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True story. But we also made possible so much of what is going on today and that is it’s own reward as well. things are soooooooo much better now than they were in the 90s. Or 70s. It’s crazy how far we’ve come. We also don’t know how time will change this.
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Absolutely!! I have great appreciation + admiration for the women who did all the groundbreaking work. Most faced significant trade offs to do it. BECAUSE the ground’s been broken tho, it seems that younger women now are creating a false dichotomy for themselves.
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I can see that. but honestly the younger generation has an unprecedented freedom and opportunity and it must, at times, feel utterly overwhelming to have nothing demanded of you. A lot of work.
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Agreed! Freedom + opportunity is great re: human potential & for the most productive/visionary. Average ppl don’t do as well w/ so many choices. Lots of psych research confirms, on aggregate, ppl aren’t great @ making choices bc they’re bad @ predicting what will make them happy.