Interesting conversation. From what I gather, the answer probably lies in the changing culture of industrialized countries that has been going on slowly for several decades, which were summarized by sociologist Jean Twenge in her book Generations (2023):
1) Increasing individualism - letting people (including kids) define their own role in life
2) “Slow-life strategy” - longer life spans, increased cost of education, and longer working years lead people to grow up more slowly. As Twenge puts it, “the risk of death is lower, but the risk of falling behind economically is higher … so parents choose to have fewer children and nurture them more extensively.” You guys touched on this reason in the pod.
Interesting conversation. From what I gather, the answer probably lies in the changing culture of industrialized countries that has been going on slowly for several decades, which were summarized by sociologist Jean Twenge in her book Generations (2023):
1) Increasing individualism - letting people (including kids) define their own role in life
2) “Slow-life strategy” - longer life spans, increased cost of education, and longer working years lead people to grow up more slowly. As Twenge puts it, “the risk of death is lower, but the risk of falling behind economically is higher … so parents choose to have fewer children and nurture them more extensively.” You guys touched on this reason in the pod.