Apparently in 2030, 45% of women ages 25–44 will be single and childfree. Do you think this will happen?

[YouAreNotBatman]

https://medium.com/hello-love/study-predicts-45-of-women-will-be-single-by-2030-1fbc99bad6a8

Came across this article.
And as much as I (single/childfree woman) would like this to be true, just so there would be more like-minded people and the stigma of being single and childfree woman would lessen.

I really don’t think this is going to happen.
Most people are still higgly conventional and traditions seem to stick in strong.

And also: putting young age 25 is jist silly, by the next 5-10 years most of those women will be married/have kids.
And what I’ve seen happening in dating life is that labels have changed, but it’s still the same old, same old.
Many insist they are ’casual’ or have areagment or new word for dating, but they are basically just plain old dating/in a relationship.

I can't see what benefits I personally would have as an unmarried childless woman that I don't have now. Or what I've given up, exactly.

Yeah, I can't see either.

Having children involves a lot of hard slog that doesn't otherwise exist for most people these days. It looks really jarring to go from nice career, time with friends, digital entertainment on demand and automation of most drudgey tasks (hello robot hoover) to the unavoidable labour of keeping helpless small people alive.

I think now that people have choice and see how many different ways you can live a full life, only those who feel the proper urge will have kids (and I think only a minority feel that urge).

Why not? It's not expensive to have children (assuming no IVF etc). Society is set up to help families. Free education and healthcare. Benefits for those who need them. The main cost is childcare or decreased earnings in the first few years. Now there is going to be free childcare from age 1, even less so.

It may require sacrifices of expensive holidays and other lifestyle choices but having children is not unaffordable by any stretch.

i think you are in a very fortunate position to have good support around you.
many have had to either give up career progression, or even careers. Or if you’re lucky enough to earn enough you are able to outsource childcare and house keeping - which can come with guilt on its own.

I married into a family that has the sort of culture you're speaking of. Only the kids as they grow into adulthood are very much expected to choose the 'right' type of spouse: one from a certain class of family, with a level of education and career, who also shares the same religion and cultural background.

As a result, most of the five kids rebelled! Only one of the five has done what was expected of them and found and marriage an acceptable spouse and gone onto have kids.

The other four have either chosen to remain single for life rather than go through the circus of trying to get matched up with the right person or face disappointing their parents (they also have no idea how to date/be romantic/be sexual due to their upbringing) or have totally gone off the beaten track and got married to people very much outside of the culture and done their own thing.

Climate change.

Also, the NHS has stopped working where I am. I don't entirely agree society is set up to help families and I would rather my DC not rely unduly on society.

I very much doubt so.
Likely to have more childless people and a lower birth rate. But single? Why that?

It's a completely different lifestyle. Whether you think one is better than the other is up to you but surely you can see there is a huge difference between family life with young kids vs the freedom of being single?

Single no kids:
Higher disposable income, time to yourself, body not wrecked by pregnancy and birth, can focus on career, see friends, go on holidays. Possibly more likely to be lonely. Single women less valued by society.

Family life:
Less money, more stress, less sleep, less time for yourself i.e. exercise, hobbies etc. But the benefit of higher social status due to having partner and children, the fun and chaos and rewards of close family relationships.

It probably depends how long you were single before you got married and had children as well as what your career and social life were like, as to how you would perceive the difference. As someone who had a really good career and social life and had kids late on, I can see a huge change in my life, some good, some bad

I agree with this, I had children in my early twenties, if I'd been established in a job I enjoyed with a good income there's no way I would have given that up to have children.
Especially now that we can all see that men are reluctant to make sacrifices for children, they prioritise their own well-being and do everything they can to preserve the freedoms that they had before children. Also seeing the way in which men routinely start to control and dominate women as soon as they are incapacitated with pregnancy and child care.
Pre-internet it was difficult for women to collaborate and see the patterns in male behavior, now we can all see it and make choices for our lives accordingly.

And men? Is there a similar article ?

The NHS is crap, agreed. That's probably a very good reason not to have children right now!

Climate change is an interesting one though. Obviously each additional birth adds to climate change. Are you saying don't continue the human race in order to prevent further climate change? Or are you altruistically not having children yourself to benefit those who do? Or are you thinking that by not having children you will see the benefits of that in your own lifetime? Or is it that you think climate change with cause suffering in your children's lifetimes and you want to protect them from that?

Single, yes definitely. There are fewer and fewer reasons to marriage.

Childless, I'm less sure. Hormones are still an overwhelming influence.

Yes I agree! If I was childless and simgle
my life (as well as being a bit lonely) would be without many benefits: I have access to holidays, travel, private health insurance, large house, added luxuries like meals out/ nice clothes / expensive hobby.. and I don’t have to work. AND my husband is very nice to me and we have fun. Without my current situation I’d have to work AND be considerably poorer..no way could I earn anything comparable to my DH. I’ve “given up” (good riddance) a life of working in a fairly middling paying job to raise my children and have nice things. Marriage works for me!

Load of tosh. Won't happen.

Men are realising that women now expect them to step up and take on their share of the child care burden, and they don't have a good counter argument because many women now out earn them.
I think this will result in men also being reluctant to be parents, they won't want to take the hit to their freedom, their earning potential etc

I do believe single women are happier than single men though. At least over the age of say, 35...

However, I don't believe the story people always come up with that single women are happier than married women.

There's happy single women and unhappy single women. There's happy married women and there's unhappy married women.

It's bullshit that single woman = happy, content, and loving life.. And married woman = downtrodden, unhappy, and depressed. That's a myth often peddled by permanently single women.

I think there will certainly be far more single, child free women. I’m not sure how this will impact the country as an aging population presents its own difficulties. As PP‘s have said, the NHS is already crap in many areas so will jt worsen as people retire and can’t be replaced?

I hope it isn’t that bad. No future taxpayers to fund old age pensions.

Nobody to work in public services.

It will be a shitshow (yes, I know it’s already a shitshow)

I'm sure there are single childless women with huge disposable incomes but I don't know any. My friends with the most disposable income are couples and those with kids. A sole income doesn't go far these days, unless you're silly-rich.

I haven't had a holiday since 2017 and the most expensive hobby I can afford is a gym membership...

Governments will end up having to pay women a full-time wage to be mothers or they won't have children at all.
I know you will scoff at this but Mark my words.

I'm CF by choice, married, 40.

Of my 8 female friends only 2 have kids.

The general feeling is that this country is a slowly burning hellhole and they woundnt want to inflict it on children.

A couple of them have said they'd like to have had children if the world was a better place.

The others are career driven.

Personally I just never wanted to have children of my own, I had a shitty childhood and didn't enjoy being a child.

I wouldn't believe a word of it. I think possibly more child free women but the single bit doesn't make sense. Time was the only way to have a career was to stay single as being in a couple = marriage = babies. But those days are long gone. Since the dawn of time ppl have formed relationships and I cant see that changing, its in our human nature. At least these days we respect those who choose not to or haven't met the right person.

I have already had children, so I don;t have a leg to stand on! Just thinking aloud. I do think climate change will cause great suffering in my children's lifetimes. So that would be my reason.

I am not scoffing @Thesharkradar I hope you’re right.

@EbonyRaven there have been a number of studies done on this. I think the biggest one was in Canada, and the results were like this, with happiest at the top and unhappiest at the bottom.

Married Men
Single Women
Married Women
Single Men

I believe this was across a wide age range though. I have been single for 13 years and bloody love it!

What a way to tell your kids that you regret ever having had them, eh?