The Neglected Reason Behind Declining Fertility Rates

Every few months, a new explanation emerges for why Americans are having fewer children. Smartphones. Inflation. Climate change.  Student debt. Social media. Political instability.  This past month, a report was released by the CDC on how birth rates have declined.  On LinkedIn, I’ve seen several posts with that graph from the Financial Times correlating the rise in smartphone usage with declining birth rates, and it’s all the rage.  We must remember a basic principle of data analysis: correlation does not imply causation. 
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That said, I can concede that as we grow addicted to our phones, social interaction declines.  I see it firsthand with my students, as they barely look up from their phones to say “Hi” back when I greet them upon walking through the classroom doors.  But attributing declining birth rates solely to technology oversimplifies the issue, just as it does to blame any single economic or cultural factor.  Most people who write about these issues neglect to mention one simple reason: people just don't want to have kids.  And it's a valid life choice.

Despite the progress we've made, it's still socially acceptable to shame people who haven't had children, whether it's by choice or by circumstance.  Such shaming includes the assumption that childfree adults are “selfish” and workplace expectations that people without kids should stay late or work undesirable shifts to accommodate parents.  I referred to this concept as procreamania in my book, How to be a Happy Bachelor.  It’s the assumption that parenthood is the default, morally superior, or socially mandatory path through adulthood.

Many people prefer life without children and can give more of themselves to their friends, partners, chosen families, and communities – and of course, pets.  I’m a Dad to an adorable little cat named Chester.   So if I must leave a work meeting early in order to give him a pill or take him to the veterinarian, I’ll speak up unapologetically.

Parenting is one valuable form of contribution to society, but it is not the only one. A healthy society needs caregivers of many kinds. While some data has shown that parents are more likely to volunteer than non-parents, the researchers did not control for the kind of volunteering in which the different groups are engaging.  For example, a person may be more likely to volunteer as a Little League coach if their child is on the team; the same principle applies to serving on a school board or Parent Teacher Association (PTA).  However, you may be more likely to find a childfree person volunteering at an animal shelter or food kitchen.  Many people in my childfree tribe spend a great deal of time with these organizations.

Of course, if we want to sustain our society, reproduction needs to occur.  And the work of parenting is difficult yet meaningful; I’m grateful to both of my parents for the sacrifices they made raising me and my brother.  But respecting parenthood should not require diminishing people who make different choices, and when we immediately link increased smartphone usage to declining birth rates, we (unintentionally) do just that.

The problem is not declining birth rates. The problem is a culture that still treats one life path as morally superior to all others. A society confident in its values should be able to respect parents without demanding parenthood from everyone.

People build meaningful lives in different ways: through raising children, mentoring students, caring for relatives, building communities, creating art, volunteering, teaching, or simply being present for others. The measure of adulthood should not be whether someone reproduced. It should be whether they contributed to the world around them.

For what it’s worth, this is much easier to do when one isn’t constantly glued to one’s smartphone.