The Population Collapse Nobody Seems To Care About - Stephen J. Shaw

Stephen J. Shaw is a data scientist and filmmaker.

Over the last 7 years, Stephen has visited 24 countries and analysed millions of piece of data to work out what is happening with global birthrates and predict the earth's future population. The answer is shocking and literally every person needs to be aware of it.

Expect to learn how 70% of countries on earth are below the population tipping point, what the cause of such rapidly changing birthrates can be attributed to, why women seem to find motherhood less attractive in 2023, whether marriage rates need to be raised, if cost of living, hormonal birth control or environmentalism is to blame and much more...

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Extra Stuff:

#population #collapse #environment

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00:00 Intro
00:17 Stephen’s Motivations for Studying Population Collapse
05:04 Whatever Happened to the Population ‘Bomb?’
11:06 The Deeply Concerning Birth Rate of Western Nations
19:18 Do Women Want to Have Children?
36:07 Do Men Want to Have Children?
44:08 Are Finances Getting in the Way?
56:06 Is it our Moral Imperative to Have Children?
1:02:02 Why Industrialisation Correlates with Declining Birth Rates
1:09:22 Impact of Declining Birth Rates on the Economy
1:17:00 How Nations Can Improve Birth Rates
1:23:19 Where to Find Stephen

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[ChrisWillx]

00:00 Intro
00:17 Stephen’s Motivations for Studying Population Collapse
05:04 Whatever Happened to the Population ‘Bomb?’
11:06 The Deeply Concerning Birth Rate of Western Nations
19:18 Do Women Want to Have Children?
36:07 Do Men Want to Have Children?
44:08 Are Finances Getting in the Way?
56:06 Is it our Moral Imperative to Have Children?
1:02:02 Why Industrialisation Correlates with Declining Birth Rates
1:09:22 Impact of Declining Birth Rates on the Economy
1:17:00 How Nations Can Improve Birth Rates
1:23:19 Where to Find Stephen

[SteveLinGuitar]

I have a friend that I’ve known since middle school. He had his kid at 22. At the time, we all thought he was crazy. We were the same age, and while we were busy partying, he was changing diapers. I certainly thought he was missing out. But fast forward. At 41, his kid is in college. He is healthy and full of energy. I told my friend, “You’re done.” What I meant was that the daily and weekly routines of school drop off, after school activities, were all behind him. That is the freedom that society never taught us, that if you could have kids sooner, you get more years with them, that more of that time is in your youth and better health. Whatever “freedom” you have in your early 20s as a single person pales in comparison to the kind of “freedom” you have when you’re in your mid-40s, when your kids are grown and you still have good health.

[lk]

I first became a mother at 20, postponed education and career to my 30 when I really knew what I wanted to do and my kids were in school. I’ve never regretted it.

[atdotcom]

My wife had all three of her kids by the time she was 28. My daughter has three children by the time she is 29. You need lots of energy with little kids. Don’t wait for the right time. There is no right time. Life is happening now. Being a fit grandpa in his 50s is a true joy…

[polloman]

This episode put a tear in my eyes, next year my wife and I are planning to have our first child and you just remove all hesitation from me. Thank you ❤

[BeatTheBanksATM]

I'll be 35 this year, I'm childless, and going through what I assume will be a break up with a man I was hoping to make babies with. This podcast hit really close to home. Here's hoping I get another opportunity before it's too late

[Headinavise]

We talked about this in the 90's. I remember a teacher telling me that companies want to hire new grads not older people. I was laid off from ATCO Electric after 15 years of service. I tried to get my job back when rehiring started and was just past from one person to another until I stopped. All the new hires are in their 20's and new grads. Our society has made getting a good job and school a priority in our younger child bearing years. I think we found a flaw.

[neillgowans]

One of the reasons I left teaching at 30 was because the pay was so poor for the south of England that I could see how I could afford a wife and kids. Now have a job earning 5x more and married with 2 kids. Financial security is a massive issue.

[Winnie-Wonka]

Something rarely brought up: so many young people grew up with unhappy parents. They either stayed together for the kids, or divorced. Ask older women 50+ if they are truly happy with their life decisions. Most say they lost so much when they became a mom and struggled in toxic/unhappy marriages.

[QuynhNguyen-hwps]

I was 38 years old when I had my first child. My husband was 40 years old and we have been talking about this between us wishing we would’ve met earlier and started this family project earlier. We both have professional careers, my husband is still doing his PhD. This podcast really put into words and data what I have been feeling about my own situation. I keep telling ALL young people I meet to start earlier. Looking back, I would’ve done things differently but hey… at least now I know I am not the only one thinking the education, the culture, the dating, the men and women relationship narratives need to shift for the next generation. I loved the podcast, thank you so so much for your work and I will be looking forward to help others avoid the challenges we’ve had to face having children later. 👍🏼👏❤️

[curtisvalle]

It's great discovering that almost everything 'society has preached to us has been wrong.

[teganmares]

Reasons I can think of which haven't been mentioned here:
1. Men are afraid because of the legal problems associated with being fathers. 2. People want to control their lives instead of having a belief system which involves selflessness and family values.
3. People are online rather than irl with each other.
4. Fertility in men is dropping fast.
5. Family trauma/disassociation
6. Uncertainty about the future/checking out/disassociation
7. Lack of "grown ups" among 20 somethings.
8. Very insufficient sex ed
9. College Ed valued over starting a family
10. Lack of traditional practices/events in communities, like dances, which set people up to want to engage and to be able to interact in a healthy mating game

[kenpumford]

My wife is a nurse, and as part of her education, she became very much aware of the fertility window, and the increasing risks of motherhood at later ages. She was 23 when we married, and from the beginning, was insistent that we have children before she turned 30, which we did. Thank goodness I listened to her. We are now in our 50s, in great health, with much more time and money to travel the world and enjoy life than when we were in our childless early / mid-20s.

[mickthelick]

I'm 43 and my partner is 33. We had our first child on December 22. I purposely waited as I wanted to be financially stable and able to be at home more once I had children. Now we've had one I wish I had had a child much earlier. Logically, waiting made sense and I am more stable than in my late 20s or early 30s but I now feel like I've missed out by holding off for so long and perhaps what's worst is that I'll be 53 when my daughter is 10, 63 when she is 20 and so on. I already feel myself slowing down and will only slow down more over the years... In simple terms, if I had had my Daughter 10 years earlier she will have gotten to be a part of my life and me hers for 10 more years than she will now. It's an opportunity cost I didn't consider and didn't appreciate.

From an evolutionary perspective, we are biologically designed to have children earlier in our lives than I have. It's not just to do with things like menopause but also our hormones, brain chemistry and a million other things.

This is also a social, and cultural issue. Less women have children and those that are, do so later than in the past. Talking about the reasons for that and whether it's a good or bad thing is a minefield but from a Male perspective, the fewer fathers we have the worse off the whole world is. Nothing will teach a young man about responsibility quicker or more effectively than having a child. It provides purpose and meaning to your life something which many men don't seem to have in today's society, leading to higher rates of depression in men, higher suicide rates and many other issues.

[christopher]

Chris, this was one of the most powerful podcasts I've listened to and I regularly listen to some of the greats. Thank you for doing this interview.

[Scaevola]

Something to contemplate: The next couple generations of kids who it will fall on to support the aging population might feel highly resentful of the responsibility. They'll likely be supportive of their parents and grandparents, but that is it. But because the elderly will make up the majority voting bloc they will likely vote for politicians and policies that heavily favor them at the expense of the new generations. I can see a huge rift in society because of this.

[MonkeyUseBrain]

Stephen does a great job explaining problems in a polite way. It's difficult to be blunt and explain how people sabotage their own reproduction.

[stephanygates]

As a girl child of the 60’s I made a personal decision to not contribute to the population “problem” (by abstaining). It seemed innocuous enough, just not being one of the parents. I spent my life caring for my elders and serving severely disabled folk. Now at 64, I realize I listened to propaganda. I probably would be a better person if I’d experienced parenting, even though I’m really not psychologically suited to the task. Sorry, everyone.

[justanotherfella]

It’s been a fair amount of time since I’ve spent so much time shouting “exactly” & “I’ve been saying this for years” at an interview/discussion/podcast.
Thank you & brilliant job! Nice one.

[liviuursegr]

As someone living in Germany and working in the medical field I can only confirm that the whole "old peoples' homes" branch is a rising financial milk cow, while the care truly provided is suboptimal