Rise of the SINK’s and DINK’s on social media

[Cooliohoolio]

Anyone else love seeing the popularity of childfree singles and couples rise on social media?

I find it so refreshing that these people single or couples are celebrating their lives and loving their lifestyle choices which don’t include having kids. A fair few do still get the hate from parents, especially the single women that I follow but I think it’s great to see that not everyone wants a massive house with a white picket fence and kids. I think it’s important that these people are showing that you can be happy and live a full filling life.

NOTE. This thread is for the Childfree celebrating their choices not for parents to make comments on those who have chosen not to have children. Please do not comment otherwise.

Agree & I have kids! No idea why they get such hate, it’s crazy how people get so defensive when people choose another lifestyle.

Though given that women have a bio clock - hopefully they truly don’t want kids & aren’t swept up in the shiny DINK lifestyle to later have to resort to IVF etc.

Nice little dig you got in at the end there.

Lol absolutely 🙄 I hope these women having children in their 20s and 30s aren't getting swept up by these shiny mummy bloggers and don't have to later resort to regretting their children...

I do follow a few SINKs and DINKs but I am a bit on the fence about people who are making it their niche. I prefer to just follow people who talk about food, wine, travel, books etc. It is then annoying if they fall pregnant and the account transitions to being all about that, but then I can just unfollow.

It is definitely becoming more socially acceptable to be DINKs and it doesn't feel that it's necessarily a given now that people will have children. I like that aspect.

But there’s so much money to made from this type of media, and primarily people are out to monetise what they can.

That being said, it’s refreshing that’s there’s a bit more diversity from “oh you poor busy working parents”

I was going to respond but I think you said it better.

I took the batteries out of my biological clock. Fuck having kids.

What a shit life. No thank you.

Hopefully these women who have children young truly don't regret not having their 20s to actually get to know themselves, travel, live a lovely lifestyle without the constraints of having children 🙂

I don’t do social media, but love the fact that women like me are no longer being viewed at total freaks. Except the threads on here of course 🙄

I've not really seen this, who are you all following?

I think a lot of people come here via Active threads and don’t really clock that it’s the Mumsnetters without children board. Hence the odd/tone deaf answers sometimes.

This exactly - hence why everyone has taken offence to my comment which wasn’t a dig.

It’s the same with the trad wife trend - my point was more that things on social media often aren’t as they seem. Same applies to having kids!

OP could not have been clearer though:

NOTE. This thread is for the Childfree celebrating their choices not for parents to make comments on those who have chosen not to have children. Please do not comment otherwise.

So I'm not buying that you didn't realise what section the thread was in. Not to mention that you were first post so it was hardly going to be in Active Threads. Do you follow any CF influencers/have you seen any of their content? To make the statement that it isn't as it seems? Obviously all social media is a highlight reel but I very much doubt they're putting on a brave face and pretending to enjoy the free time/holidays/extra disposable income.

The active SHOWS WHAT TOPIC THE THREAD IS IN

Danni Duncan, Dinkypod, z00mi.e, wildshe chlobow_to are good places to start. You might not choose to follow them but once you watch their content the algorithm will suggest more CF creators.

I am proper chuffed that fewer women than ever are having children, and illsutrating that there IS more to life than having children, and that you can have a good, happy, full life without them.

I feel it's become more 'acceptable' now, and more women are choosing to stay childfree, and it's becoming more common.

Even as little as 5-6 years ago, women were being made to feel like they were doing something wrong by not having them, and that their lives wouldn't be 'complete,' and who will look after you when you're older etc.. (Like having children automatically means you will have a carer when you're elderly/infirm.) For a start it's not guaranteed that your DC will want to do, or will be able to. AND it's not fair to expect it of them.

I think some (younger) women have caught on now, as to how hard it is raising children, and how it's life changing, and how you never have any money to yourself, and how you always have to put those children first, and they depend on you 100%!

And it's not helped by how fucking useless most men are, and how almost everything is done by the woman in the house (and with the childcare.) And so yes, many women are opting out. Sadly, in this day and age, 'community' and the 'village' no longer exists, and many women are left alone to look after the children, often whilst being forced out to work, because of finances, or just being expected to go out to work because how dare she stay at home?

Some men who 'let' their wife/the mother of their children being a stay at home mum, seem to want them back out to work when they children start school. Because children don't need looking after once they hit 5. 🙄

It is strange that they build their identity around something they don’t have, I’ve always found that weird. Many people don’t own a motorbike and they just get on with that, they don’t make social media accounts to bleat on about not having a motorbike all the time.

It’s still the default for women to have children. Life without children is still seen as inferior. Therefore women without children are expected to justify their life choices. And you can’t compare children to motorbikes.

That's a negative way to look at it. I think they're more building a brand around having choice and freedom rather than not having children. As PP says it is still the norm to have or want children so it's nice to have a community to support those of us who don't make that choice. Lots of the content isn't about children at all, although often there are nods to gratitude for their childfree lifestyle for making XYZ possible. They also get a lot of hate, threats and comments similar to yours, usually from men who can't stand the idea that women have choice.

Can anyone recommend and SINK specific accounts? I follow a few child free by choice accounts but nothing specific. I went from a DINK to a SINK last year and would be good to see.

Also the batteries have been out of my bio clock since I was a child. Why do people love a dig?

That's the most ridiculous analogy I've ever seen.