While there is not much in English on it, the Finnish Population Research Institute recently released a study that for the first time has linked what at least some of us have known for ages, social media usage has decreased the fertility rate. This was a Finnish Study, but since 2010, the birthrate in the country has fallen by almost 30%, which is enormous, and is the lowest ever recoded in the Nordic countries.
It isn't just social media usage, there were other factors such as economic uncertainty and lifestyle decisions, but I think these things are related in the younger generation. Not only that, I believe that social media and culture is not arranged in a way conducive to building the long-term relationships that are generally needed for planning children.
Back when I was at university, which was when the likes of "survivor" were new to air, there was some study that showed the difference between time spent across financial classes as to what percentage watched reality shows. While over 80% of the lowest earners watched, only 3% of the highest earners watched.
This was pre-social media, but I think that often it is the same now, where while nearly everyone is using some kind of social application or platform, the type of content consumed likely varies a lot. If the internet was a coffee table full of books, I think that the highest earners would likely have more of what they feel helps them accomplish or be more productive in order to meet their goals. And probably, even the pure entertainment content, is still somewhat aligned with their want to extract value from their activity.
When my wife came to my place for the very first time, she wandered around the apartment stickybeaking, but on the hunt for one thing - my books. She comes from a family of readers and knows that what someone spends their free time consuming, is a pretty good indicator of many parts of their personality.
I had no books.
This worried her. Because, what kind of person doesn't read? Of course, I did actually read at the time, but I have never felt the need to put what I read on display, as I am not one of those people who just picks something off the shelf when bored - probably because I am rarely bored. This means that when I read, I read. It is a targeted action, not something I do to pass the time, which also means that I even the fiction books I consume, need to bring more value than entertainment to my life.
She got over it - we are married and have a child.
But only one child.
We would have bumped that average up ever so slightly as we were planning on two, but due to complications, it wasn't in the stars for us unfortunately. Yet, we are both quite analog people and at least at the time, didn't spend that much time on "social" media - which I put into "air-quotes" because it is obviously not social enough to inspire relationships that spawn children.
My wife and I met dancing and early on, we chatted a lot through apps, but that was only after we had effectively vetted each other in the real world and, we would still see each other a couple times a week at dance events as we got to know each other. None of this swiping left and right nonsense - to hook up, we did the hard yards.
And I think that this is one of the problem with culture now and why there is a lower fertility rate, because things are too easy. We live in an on-demand society where everything is at our fingertips and it is all disposable - including relationships. It is easy to find someone, it is easy to let that person go and find another. And because of this cycle, relationships are cheap and nasty, short-term rentals, not something owned, nurtured and protected.
It really is no surprise that social media usage (and gaming) leads to a lower birthrate, nor should it be a surprise that this kind of media-powered culture is also going to lead to the other reasons cited, financial challenge and lifestyle. Isn't it obvious? Social media is driven by advertising revenues that look to influence buying decisions, and the more social proof that a product or concept appears to have, the more it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Lifestyle and financial uncertainty.
Hand in hand.
We all have a "lifestyle" and it may change, but when lifestyle is driven by social media, it is going to heavily push the consumer mentality, so companies can maximize profits. It is a narrow view for profit-seeking, but it sets the meta for consumer behavior for many people, perhaps even a majority of people.
But, there are "alternative" lifestyles too, which used to mean hippies, but now the alternative lifestyle is one of financial understanding and well being - it is not the norm. The norm is people (especially the young) who just don't want to work at building ownership, but still feel they are entitled to own and to positive outcomes in a society, though very few are willing to participate fully and add value.
The general culture is a maximization of leisure and pleasure, but what it actually is turning into is just a maximization of spare time, even though what people are doing isn't necessarily satisfying them. If it was, the youth of today wouldn't all be on antidepressant medication.
In the past however, there was less spare time, but people likely felt that they had done the work for what they had and because that work was hard, they would also be more restricted in the way they spent their money. This made them more of a holder of their wealth, than a seller of their wealth.
That mentality is long gone in most populations around the world, but it would definitely be interesting to see what kinds of content different financial groups consumed online. Are the CEOs spending all their time on TikTok? Is there a difference between what kinds of shows they watch on Netflix? I think there would definitely be a difference in time on site, which is one of the major marketing points pushed to advertisers, where the more ToS a page has, the longer the person consuming is exposed to the various forms of advertising, including the "articles" that influence lifestyle changes - like all the crap about celebrities.
In the mainstream media, for the most part, long-form is dead, because it is all about clicks and gossip and drama get clicks. The long-form content is reserved for?
The top earners.
Social media might be a channel for their distribution, but most of what "the kids are using" offers nothing for a high earner. For them to get value, they don't need a new TikTok dance or Twitter blowup, they need content that supports their understanding, career and potential to improve their outcomes. And before someone says, "but what about the fun of life?"
It is fun!
It is an enjoyable experience to consume content around the topics you are interested in, but that doesn't mean that content can't help improve us. Entertainment doesn't have to mean time wasted on the irrelevant, it can also help us in our worldly pursuits, and I think that if there was a study done, there would be a relatively clear difference between socio-economic subgroups in what people consumed, and likely how.
There is a trend among the wealthy to have more children these days, not less, because they are realizing that there aren't going to be enough highly-skilled workers to go around, so if they want their businesses and wealth maintained, they are going to also have to provide some of the labor force. This might not be what is directly going through their heads, but their lifestyle is influenced by what they consume too and for them, they are surrounded by topics of wealth, and the wealthy who are interested in them.
Subscribing to a business magazine or only listening to business podcasts won't do much unless it is followed up through action. But, there has to be enough interest to move us to act, not just consume for the feeling that we are doing something positive, whilst doing nothing at all - like changing a profile picture in support of the latest cause.
While social media and digital experience affects us in so many ways these days, it is good to understand that nothing much has changed in terms of consumption,
we are what we eat.
Surround yourself with low-quality content, expect that will influence your output.
What does what you consume tell about you?
Not much.
It still comes down to our behaviors.
While everyone focuses on being entertained, the economic survivors, will be those who were best prepared for the game. Social media is like a gladiator tournament designed to appease the people, so they do not have the power or will to revolt.
Are you entertained?
This is where the magic happens.
Sleight of Lifestyle.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]