Researchers connect the abundant use of social media to the decline in Finland’s birth rate | News
The most common reasons for postponing having children are an uncertain life situation or the desire to maintain a childless lifestyle.
Finland’s birth rate has dropped considerably over the past decade.
In 2010, the figure was 1.87 children per woman, but in 2019 the ratio dropped to 1.35. A small but short rise, however partly due to the Covid-19 pandemicobserved after 2019.
In particular, people under the age of 30 are putting off having their first child more and more, and the number of children per family has also decreased.
Researchers from the Helsinki Research College investigated the factors that influence people’s decisions on whether or not to have children.
The spread of social media
The study identified three main reasons for postponing or not having children, according to the department’s press release.
The researchers found that respondents who were more oriented towards work and social media cited lifestyle preferences as the main reason for delaying starting a family. This was especially the case with female respondents.
“Public speculation has suggested that the spread of social media in the 2010s may be linked to the decline in birth rates. Here we show for the first time with survey data that there is a link,” said Anna RotkirchResearch Director of the Population Research Institute.
Uncertain economic situation
The second most common reason for delaying or not having children was an uncertain life situation. This included incomplete studies, financial uncertainty and concern about the challenges of combining work and childcare.
Another often cited reason was lifestyle.
“Some adults did not want to change their current lifestyle, but rather did other things in life than start a family”, researcher Kateryna Golovina said.
Some of the respondents also felt that they already had a suitable family size.
The survey was based on the Family Barometer of the Finnish Population Research Institute, and both men and women aged 20-44 participated in it.