Birth rates are tanking because of increased access to contraceptives and people having the wealth and freedom to enjoy their 20s and 30s unburdened by children
and people *not* having the wealth and freedom to have children, being burdened by 80+ hour work weeks to pay rent on a place they'll never own or have capital in.
Listen to the millenials and gen z'ers before you make bold accusations.
in every meaningful sense the income/fertility relationship is negative.
This data's a little old, but makes the point:
https://www.guttmacher.org/news-release/2013/unintended-preg...
Women are relatively lonelier than in the past too.
We're wealthy, free to pursue our hobbies, and advance in our careers. Nobody's body is getting wrecked, nobody's free time and sleep is getting upended, and it's generally a Very Good Time.
Both having kids and not having kids feels selfish for different reasons. It's hard to really feel like there's a right answer here.
For what it's worth, my partner and I have made the same decision. We're not having children. It's already too difficult to buy a home here in Brisbane, let alone with the spectre of climate change related problems in the future. And, more to the point, we love our lives as-is!
Of course having kids is also selfish, as it's bringing someone into this world just to fulfil your biological imperative to reproduce; you create a human being that will (if you don't screw it up) love you for the rest of your life, and your gift to them is this fucked up world, forced to consume scarce resources that may already be gone by the time they're old enough to actually enjoy being a human.
No. That is definitely not more likely.