Ask Lemmy

Yes I do. I am an anti-natalist because I care about people.

Not specifically today, just generally born. Some things are worse, some better.
It's just that it's impossible for anyone to consent to being born. And not many people can say that they're living happily.

"I miss the good ol' days" is basically how a certain country's fascist got elected. There's nothing to miss about the past, what's to miss? Casual "gay humor" (homophobia), racial stereotyping, misogyny and toxic masculinity, ableism, refusal to ackowlege other's mental health stuggles, or conversely, locking people up for neurodivergence, the fact that "lobotomy" is a legal thing to do, fuck that world.

Yes. It's one of the checkmarks in the don't-have-kids column.

Gf and I talk about this a lot. Both want kids but I don't know how to feel about this world anymore. I come from generational wealth so could just buy the kids houses but I feel like it's still going to be super shitty overall

Not really. Time flies fast, they are newborn today, but in 60 years, they'll be the elderly every yougster wished do be (if there's no war) and we, will be the misunderstood great grandfathers who lived an unknown time.

Whatever the world would become, they would live an interesting but very harsh time of population shrinking, due to demographic transition (except african children), and even if we fear about their early ipad brainrotting process, they'll figure out how to make their way in life, because it'll be chaos if they don't.

They'll be the beta generation who were born with the ol' AI generative tools, knew a bit about life without mass surveillance, lived the VR revolution, and worked to make nuclear fusion possible. (some guesses about future, let's be optimists)

When I was a kid, there was a hole in the ozone layer and we were just going to be blown up by a nuclear war, or get AIDS.

It's always been the end times.

So no, I don't worry that much about kids. I do wish that embodiment was not a forced choice, you can't ask a baby if they would like to be born. I'm sure there are planets where the 'people' have a much harder time than we do here. Sure I am incredibly angry that we are squandering this glorious advantage we have so soon. But no I am not sorry for the kids of the future and also the past really sucked for most people, you can't compare a hard life of the near future to some idealized imaginary easy life of the past.

Economically speaking the more abrupt the population shrinkage the worse the few young people will have it because of the extreme imbalance of retired vs working population

People be fucking.

There were kids conceived and born during the Holocaust.

I do, but I also acknowledge that I may be wrong, and that the parents are free to make their own choices.

Yup. Between climate collapse, wealth shift to the ultra wealthy, and the global surge in popularity of right wing extremist authoritarianism, I don't see things improving any time soon.

Things are rapidly degrading, and intentionally dropping a child into the dumpster fire we're turning our planet into is an act of cruelty and selfishness that few others measure up to.

Having a vasectomy was probably the best decision I've made - not for my sake, but the kid's and any even less fortunate grandkids and so on.

My own parents have finally fucked off a bit about when their grandchildren are coming, and lecturing me on how I'm cheating myself out of life's greatest joy or some shit... I think current events have finally become so glaringly bad that even they can't ignore it, but reminding them constantly about how unfair that would be for the kid was so fucking tiring.

Hell id definitely have been better off being born 20 years earlier

You personally, maybe. But a lot of other people no. I'm thinking about disease we found and will find cures for, acceptation of differences (gender, neurodiversity etc...), advancement in prosthetic technologies and all the other things.

As history advances some people will be better of, some less and the tides always turn.

More grist for the mill.

Yes, I felt a deep-seated disappointment when my siblings or friends announced their pregnancy. People like to spout the cliche that every generation is born into crisis but the conditions this one is inheriting are particularly dire.

I definitely would not want a child now. I believe the uncertainty of the speed of climate change and the global suffering that comes with it all would be a terrible burden for everyone.

Having a child in 2025 is just plain selfish.

I used to.

Kids have never been something I never saw myself having. I have nephews and nieces and I used to worry about them.

They’ve grown up a bit and the kids are actually doing alright. In my family they are all loved and they’re well behaved kids.

They’re getting proper diagnoses and treatment for their adhd that my brothers and I probably should have gotten as kids. Instead we all got countless detentions and suspensions in school.

School these days is kind of a mess, but my nieces and nephews all have parents who step in and help. The biggest thing for one who was getting bullied was switching schools, it was a total 180 in his life after leaving that environment.

The omnipresent tech and AI stuff is a mess too. I think having involved and caring parents helps a lot with that. It’s harder to fall into the traps when you have good examples in life. Hopefully that keeps up.

As for money/job prospects that was a huge concern when I was coming of age too. 2008 fucked everything up. This too shall pass the youth job market has always been tough for the last 25 years. They’ll figure it out with a bit of help. They’re not doomed here. As long as there are people there will be needs to fill.

I do worry about the climate. I don’t know how to help with that. I try to do good but it’s beyond my control to stop. All we can do is try to mitigate and adapt.

Partly yes.
If I could choose, I would take 10 years earlier than I was actually born.
At least I could have experienced the early internet for longer.