Population overload.

[chaosmaker]

Just wondering if anyone else thinks that we are at a stage where we should incentivise/reward people who choose not to breed. We're on a finitely resourced planet and I've just read a thread where people were talking about some celebrity having a 4th kid via a surrogate.
Should we talk about how the more kids you have, the more competition you are making for them in adult life?

AI is already being used to take over previously human staffed jobs. It's been creeping into jobs like journalism for ages.
There have been famines in various countries for ever and yet we are at a point in evolution where we have more power over our fertility than ever.
Interested in what other people think about this.

The thing is that if a fair proportion of the population is not having children de to environmental concerns and capitalism then giving them more money isn’t going to help birth rates.
Making the country a nice place to live and properly attacking climate change would but that’s not in the narrative

When blokes stop touching me up on the train and cat calling me at the bus stop, and the bus will actually go where I want it to when I want it to, we can talk about public transport. Outside of London, public transport is shite. I've been turned down for jobs solely because of the buses not getting me there in time for shift start.

Birth control and lower birth rates ( in both developed and developing countries) is without doubt the most cost effective method of stopping climate change and pollution.

Less people less emissions.

Oh I agree with you. I’ve had so many bad experiences that I avoid using it myself so am in no way judgemental about any of this, it’s just one of the main things that’s often talked about as a way to reduce our carbon footprint.

Ha ha, I love this. What was the response?

Mm yes, let’s just ignore the fact that fossil fuels will run out, until one day we wake up and can’t switch the lights on…

I mean, with that username combined with the word 'breed' combined with asking the question on a forum mainly aimed at mums, I'd think the op got the rise they so desperately wanted 🙄

It's on the childfree board, not AIBU.

And any parent with half a brain should be very worried about global over-population and depletion of resources, as your kids are going to be the ones dealing with the consequences. The best way of ensuring a pleasant future for the next generation is to face up to the problems, not to try to ignore them, or to call people toxic (as another PP did), for talking about them.

Watch the documentary called a'Birthgap'. Part one is on YT.

Both global overpopulation and regional demographic collapse are problems. It's not one or the other, as many posters seem to think.

Its in the childfree board

Ive seen several threads suggest that childfree/less people get taxed more to encourage more babies due to the population size dropping

This is just the flip side of that

I don't agree with either suggestion because both of them are effectively suggesting monetising womens uteruses

But if its okay to ask one it should be okay to ask the other they are two sides of the same coin

@MissLucyEyelesbarrow of course, but I quite like to learn those things from experts who don't use the word breed - because clearly the main name of that word is to anger people and dehumanise parents. Not, y'know, have an actual, productive conversation. But you do you.

You have literally every other board on MN, and yet you turn up on the CF board to police the language used. You might not like the term 'breed' but it is used in context in the OP.

@MissLucyEyelesbarrow your argument is the equivalent of someone pointing out sexist language in a forum for men. 'Well you don't belong here so you shouldn't comment.'

It came up my feed and I didn't look at the channel it was in. Clicked on it as it's an area of interest of mine.

Reasons given so far that we are not allowed to talk about over-population:

It is upsetting to women who are infertile
It is upsetting to women who are fertile
It is not a thing
It is 'toxic'

Have I missed any? 😉

I quite like to learn those things from experts who don't use the word breed - because clearly the main name of that word is to anger people and dehumanise parents

In the last week I've read threads where it's been strongly implied that childfree women want to kill babies by supporting abortion up till birth, called selfish and bad friends for not immediately and unquestioningly re-arranging their lives to accommodate a friend with a child who is demanding free childcare, and told they're not fit to be in authority/politicians because they don't have children. There have been threads where women without children have been told they're essentially second class citizens because they haven't reproduced

And that's just a small sample of what some of us face and have faced. Read the childfree bingo thread and the barrage of stuff that childfree women get because they've had the cheek not to have children.

And you're worried about a word dehumanising parents.

*Reasons given so far that we are not allowed to talk about over-population:

It is upsetting to women who are infertile
It is upsetting to women who are fertile
It is not a thing
It is 'toxic'

Have I missed any?* 😉

You what ? Did anyone say you're not allowed ? Don't think so.

I think you're massively over dramatising that one.

I was hoping the childfree board would be a safe place for people without children to talk about their feelings. But apparently we aren’t even allowed that. Depressing

Some people really don't want us to have this board.

was hoping the childfree board would be a safe place for people without children to talk about their feelings. But apparently we aren’t even allowed that. Depressing

a thread about possibly incentivising women to reduce their birth rates in effort to reduce populations doesn't even sound like a safe place to talk about feelings.

In fact I find it weird that it's on the CF thread. I think OP has done a number and conveniently not come back.

CF board

Yes I was reading about this a while ago. Very worrying!

@chaosmaker have you not seen the information on this and population predictions for the near future? Maybe that will help ease your concerns of overpopulation - may make you worry about under population though!

In fact I find it weird that it's on the CF thread. I think OP has done a number and conveniently not come back

We have to assume that people are posting in good faith, but there's always the chance that some aren't. There was a lot of opposition to this board being created and it's not impossible that threads like this might be used to close it down, citing that we're using inflammatory/discriminatory language about parents.

I think 'global population' is up for discussion - given global overconsumption v falling birth rates etc

BUT why is it even on this board?