Well this certainly doesn't bode well for the future of civilization. Or, frankly, the benefit of humans in general.
According to a new Pew study released this week, the percentage of adults under the age of 50 who say they probably won't ever have kids has skyrocketed in recent years, jumping a whopping 10 points in the last half decade alone. In 2023, the share of adults ages 18 to 49 who say they're now "unlikely to ever have kids" stood at a stunning 47 percent, up from 37 percent in 2018. In fact, the number of people who say they probably won't ever have children is practically even with those who say it's "likely" that they will have kids one day (50%).
Which begs the next logical question: why are so many adults saying it's unlikely that they'll ever have kids? Is it the difficulty of finding a partner with which to procreate? Is it the increasing expense of...well, everything?
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Nope. According to the study, the most prevalent reason given by childless adults for why they probably won't have kids is that they simply "don't want to." In fact, a full 57% of those who say kids aren't in the cards say they just don't feel like having children, while 44% admitted they "want to focus on other things." Roughly 1 in 3 say they can't afford to raise a child, and 1 in 5 claim they just "don't really like children."
In other news, it might be time to buy stock in Petsmart and Home Depot. I have a feeling cats and houseplants are gonna be big sellers over the next few decades.
Right along with anti-depressants and nursing home units.