More grist for the mill.
this post was submitted on 21 Aug 2025
294 points (89.3% liked)
Ask Lemmy
34539 readers
669 users here now
A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions
Rules: (interactive)
1) Be nice and; have fun
Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them
2) All posts must end with a '?'
This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?
3) No spam
Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.
4) NSFW is okay, within reason
Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com.
NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].
5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions.
If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.
6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online
Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.
Partnered Communities:
Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Hell id definitely have been better off being born 20 years earlier
You personally, maybe. But a lot of other people no. I'm thinking about disease we found and will find cures for, acceptation of differences (gender, neurodiversity etc...), advancement in prosthetic technologies and all the other things.
As history advances some people will be better of, some less and the tides always turn.
How does OP know he'd be better off? He could have died of AIDS in 1995. That shit happened all the time.
People be fucking.
There were kids conceived and born during the Holocaust.
"Hey, baby. Wanna fight eugenics?"
I do, but I also acknowledge that I may be wrong, and that the parents are free to make their own choices.
When I was a kid, there was a hole in the ozone layer and we were just going to be blown up by a nuclear war, or get AIDS.
It's always been the end times.
So no, I don't worry that much about kids. I do wish that embodiment was not a forced choice, you can't ask a baby if they would like to be born. I'm sure there are planets where the 'people' have a much harder time than we do here. Sure I am incredibly angry that we are squandering this glorious advantage we have so soon. But no I am not sorry for the kids of the future and also the past really sucked for most people, you can't compare a hard life of the near future to some idealized imaginary easy life of the past.
load more comments
(1 replies)
Yes
I used to.
Kids have never been something I never saw myself having. I have nephews and nieces and I used to worry about them.
They’ve grown up a bit and the kids are actually doing alright. In my family they are all loved and they’re well behaved kids.
They’re getting proper diagnoses and treatment for their adhd that my brothers and I probably should have gotten as kids. Instead we all got countless detentions and suspensions in school.
School these days is kind of a mess, but my nieces and nephews all have parents who step in and help. The biggest thing for one who was getting bullied was switching schools, it was a total 180 in his life after leaving that environment.
The omnipresent tech and AI stuff is a mess too. I think having involved and caring parents helps a lot with that. It’s harder to fall into the traps when you have good examples in life. Hopefully that keeps up.
As for money/job prospects that was a huge concern when I was coming of age too. 2008 fucked everything up. This too shall pass the youth job market has always been tough for the last 25 years. They’ll figure it out with a bit of help. They’re not doomed here. As long as there are people there will be needs to fill.
I do worry about the climate. I don’t know how to help with that. I try to do good but it’s beyond my control to stop. All we can do is try to mitigate and adapt.
I definitely would not want a child now. I believe the uncertainty of the speed of climate change and the global suffering that comes with it all would be a terrible burden for everyone.
nope
Partly yes.
If I could choose, I would take 10 years earlier than I was actually born.
At least I could have experienced the early internet for longer.
Yeah. It is like a kid being born in the 1930's.