Fewer babies, more screens: Why are modern adults avoiding parenthood?

< The Great Baby Bust: Why Modern Life Might Be Turning Us Away From Family >

The Vanishing Cradle

Across the developed world, birth rates have plummeted in a phenomenon that has experts scratching their heads. Former U.S. Senator Ben Sasse points to a curious paradox: in an era of unprecedented comfort and stability, people are choosing not to have children—or even sex—at alarmingly low rates. While most families shrink, certain religious communities—Mormons, some Jewish groups—defy the trend, maintaining robust populations. Meanwhile, the broader culture increasingly treats parenthood like an inconvenient chore, preferring the fleeting thrills of digital diversions over the weighty responsibility of raising the next generation.

The Dopamine Trap

Sasse argues that the culprit may lie in our pockets. Smartphones and endless streams of instant gratification have reshaped human priorities, turning attention away from long-term commitments like family, faith, and legacy. He laments what he sees as a fundamental abandonment of humanity’s defining traits—our ability to hope, to invest in the future through our children. Yet life, as it often does, delivered a sharp counterpoint to his theories when Sasse himself faced an existential reckoning.

A Second Chance at Life

Diagnosed with advanced cancer, Sasse was given mere months to live. But a breakthrough treatment, combined with the strength of his personal convictions, granted him years beyond the grim prognosis. Now, he questions whether society’s frantic rejection of family and tradition has come at a hidden cost. His prescription? A return to the deeper rhythms of existence—rest, reflection, and the quiet endurance of time-honored values—might be the very thing that makes life not just bearable, but meaningful.