global birth rates dropping from 5.3 to 2.3

"condoms led to negative evolution.

intelligent people used birth control and reproduced less, while stupid people multiplied uncontrollably..." nagsimo sakara

the world's population declining is already something many people want. with limited resources, it could be a positive development for the future if there are fewer people to support.

on the other hand, the fact that birth rates are lower in developed countries while much higher in underdeveloped countries could end up pushing humanity backward in terms of overall progress and quality of life.

i read the new financial times article. in most of the world's 195 countries, fertility rates have fallen below 2.1. the article argues that smartphones, mobile internet, and social media have made people less social, less likely to date, and therefore less likely to form relationships.

in the us and uk, the first places where birth rates started falling were the same regions where 4g was introduced earliest. birth rates stayed relatively stable in the us, uk, and australia until 2007. in france and poland until 2009. in mexico and indonesia until 2012. and in ghana, nigeria, and senegal until around 2013 to 2015. these dates overlap with the mass spread of smartphones and are seen as the beginning of the shift.

in south korea, socializing among young people has declined, and the birth rate has dropped by 50% over the last 20 years. the article also mentions sexual dysfunction becoming more common among heavy social media users.

ai wasn't included in the article. but the number of people becoming completely absorbed in ai and withdrawing from real social interaction is also starting to grow. that's probably something that needs to be examined too.

yeah sure, apparently the global decline in birth rates is happening only because of social media and smartphones. these people can’t read sociology properly but somehow they’re writing articles for the nyt.

the issue isn’t just tinder, instagram, or digital loneliness. those are symptoms.

the world is going through a serious era of economic insecurity. housing crises, debt based economies, unstable work conditions, endless states of crisis, and class pressure have pushed people out of a “building a future” mindset and into a “survival” mindset.

fertility is basically a biological referendum on how much confidence a society has in the future.

a society that doesn’t trust the future stops reproducing.

throughout history, during major periods of crisis, people married later, had fewer children, and developed resource preservation instincts.

there are two fundamental strategies in life:

1. survival strategy
2. struggle strategy

right now, a large part of the world is operating on survival strategy, not struggle strategy.

modern capitalism has also turned into a system that constantly tries to overcome its own historical crises through external tensions, militarization, and new forms of economic control. the system moves with the fear of another global turbulence similar to 1929.

at the same time, today’s elites resemble the data owners of a digital neo feudal order more than classical aristocrats. people are no longer exploited only through labor, but also through their attention, behavior, and data.

projects like universal basic income are presented by some circles as social safety solutions, but if implemented without solving inequality in ownership of production, they risk turning masses into passive consumers dependent on the system.

anyone expecting the precariat to start having children either understands nothing about sociology or is acting as a propagandist for the current order.

because societies living on rent, drowning in debt, uncertain about the future, and constantly fearing crisis do not produce romance.

they try to survive first.