A man who claims that millennials who don't have kids will be "in for a shock when they enter their 40s & realise life is only half over," has been met with a raft of backlash. Shane Morris, who describes himself on Twitter as a podcast host and writer, shared his controversial opinion which has now been shared tens of thousands of times and has over 15,000 responses.
He shared to his 3,300 followers: "Millennials who are very cavalier about not having children are in for a shock when they enter their 40s & realise life is only half over. What do you do at that point? Keep trying to be sexy & have fun? I expect to see a lot of sadness & confusion about what to do at that point.
"Without the natural connections and belonging that literally emerge from marriage and fertility, the latter years become very cold and lonely. Those "Friendsgivings" will get old, quickly."
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And it's fair to say his controversial opinion has garnered quite the response. His tweet now has over 24,000 retweets, 39,000 likes and 15,000 responses, and while some people understand his point, for the most part, the majority of the responses have been telling Shane - who says he is a father himself - why he is wrong.
One person said: "Older Gen Xer here. Some are not meant to have a family. I have a full rich life. Never feel lonely, no fear 'of dying alone'. Some can handle this. I acknowledge that most cannot," while another added: “'I’m bored, and alas, I have no children to make life interesting' is not the dire warning you think it is. Fulfilment takes many forms. Reproduction is not necessarily among them."
Others pointed out that the choice not to have children is often a difficult one and sometimes out of a person's control. One person said: "Also most Millenials aren't having children because they want to be hot & party. We aren't having children because we literally can not afford them nor do we have the time to raise them. If you want people to have children create the material conditions that allow it. Scolding people while doing nothing to solve the problem is less then helpful."
Another said: "Why is so hard for you to imagine a happy and fulfilled life outside of parenthood? The possibilities are limitless!" and another added "I don't have kids and no man is going to tell me I should."
One woman who says she is unable to have children said: "This makes me want to cry. I desperately want children, I have a horrible genetic disorder. I don’t want to pass it on to children. Adoption is off the table for us. Pregnancy is life threatening for me. I just need to find more to life now, and this makes me feel super hopeless."
Millennials generally encompass people born between 1981 and 1996. As birth rates and fertility rates have been steadily declining, many have attributed this as fewer millennials choosing to have children. A recent Pew Research Center Survey, analysed by Business Insider revealed that of childless adults who think they won't have kids, 5% cited environmental reasons as a factor in their decision.
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