WATCH: Gen Z Is Scared To Have Kids Due To Climate Change
During a recent trip to the University of Texas in Austin, I asked Gen Z what their thoughts on having a family and kids were. In today’s society it’s common to find students who value a successful career over having a family. However, the response I was more surprised about was the amount that “climate change” was brought into the conversation.
When asked about whether or not they wanted kids, most students responded yes. However, climate change and overpopulation played a factor as to why they probably wouldn’t or would prefer to adopt.
“I would definitely never like create life, but I would think about adopting, maybe,” one student shared. He went on to discuss how he pities modern-day children that are, “going to be living in like a dying world.”
“I think they’re a beautiful gift to the world,” another male student shared. However, he went on to explain that he probably won’t have any in the future, “just because of where our planets kind of headed.”
“I’ll have kids yeah, adopt children,” a third student began, “but we’re overpopulated and there’s a lot of kids without homes and families and stuff.”
I then went on to ask him if his fear of overpopulation led him to not want as many kids to which he responded, “the more kids people have the worse the problem is going to get.”
Another female student aligned more with the career-focused mentality regarding children, sharing that they were, “a nuisance.”
“At this day and age I’m like really focused on myself and if I were to bring a child into this world it would bring a lot of turmoil for me,” she explained.
Four other students interviewed shared that they would like kids through the route of adoption.
As the media continues to push out headlines like, “A World Without Children” by the Atlantic, or “Climate change turns younger people against having kids. What about adoption?” by Market Watch, it’s been interesting to see how this type of mentality has infiltrated the next generation and how this will impact US birth rates.
For example, using statistics provided by the CDC, EconoFact reports that, “The U.S. birth rate has fallen by 20% since 2007,” and that the decline is tied to neither, “demographic, economic, or policy changes.”
This leads us to examine modern-day culture and its impact on how newer generations view on having kids and continuing on the traditional family.
