The real population challenge is offline

Two demographic essays published in May claiming that surfing the internet might lower people's willingness to start a family have made a splash online. The logic is as follows:

By surfing the internet, fatigue increases so much that it changes people's attitude toward starting a family. Besides, while consumption gets a boost the more people browse the internet, it shrinks the budget for marriage and family life.

Assuming that people's decisions are influenced by what they read online, one would assume social media is full of articles advocating singlehood. Instead, online opinions encouraging people not to settle for a family life account for a very small percentage. If there are those who advocate for a Double Income No Child or single life, there are also those who prefer having more children.

If there are few takers for family life, it is only because people feel the pinch of the high costs of raising a family.

The essays concluded that the percentage of internet users wanting to raise a family was 10.5 percent lower than those family-lovers who do not use the internet. It is not clear how the essayists define "internet users" and "those who do not use it". Almost every young person has access to the internet and there is hardly anybody who "does not use it".

If one tries to look for a group that has no access to the internet, one wonders how small that group would be. Besides, those who "use the internet" can belong to various age groups. For example, how good is the theory when it comes to the internet users who already have a family?

The low birth rate does pose a challenge to the nation's long-term development strategy, and it is important to reverse the trend by boosting people's willingness to start a family. In order to do that, there are many measures that can be taken, such as improving medical care for mothers and babies. It is time certain scholars focus on the real challenge rather than on the internet.