An unprecedented low number of children are being born in Sweden, and the reasons are said to be numerous – from war, climate alarmism, and economic anxiety to fear of childbirth.
Mother of four Anna Björklund argues that rapid digitalization and increased screen time have had a major impact and describes how children today are often perceived as an annoying disturbance that many would rather avoid.
The Swedish government recently announced the formation of an expert group to investigate why birth rates are declining and whether this trend can be reversed. The work is based on a similar study recently conducted in Finland.
One of the group's members is mother of four, podcaster, and author Anna Björklund, and on Swedish public television SVT, she highlights digitalization as a possible key factor.
– Personally, I believe one piece of the puzzle is that we who are having children now, or should be having children now, are the first generation that grew up with the internet.
"Demanding presence"
Björklund is uncertain whether the trend can be reversed but sees possibilities to influence the development. She describes how children today are often perceived as demanding – not necessarily because of the children themselves, but because adults are not present.
– I've noticed that people see children as very annoying. That they talk about children as very troublesome, and when I tell people I have many children, they say it sounds exhausting. What they mean is that children demand presence in the room, and if you don’t respond to the subtle animal-like signals from a baby, it will scream.
– When parents have so many things competing for their attention and causing them not to be present in the room, children are perceived as very difficult. Then the question is, should the children be removed, or should humans as a species learn again to be present in the room? Personally, I think perhaps the latter, she says.
In Finland, where birth rates have also fallen to record low levels, a government study has recently analyzed the causes of declining childbirth. Anna Rotkirch, research professor and director of the Population Research Institute in Finland, particularly points to the difficulty of finding the right partner on public television.
– This is a new trend, young adults' relationships don't last nearly as long as they did for previous generations, she explains.
Rotkirch also emphasizes digitalization as a possible explanation for the changing relationships.
– It's difficult to see anything else that would have changed globally over the past 15 years when we see this unexpectedly strong decline in fertility.
"Deteriorates young women's mental health"
The population researcher emphasizes that more research is needed to understand the full impact of digitalization on birth rates. But there are already clear signs that screen time and social media have negative effects – particularly on young women's mental health.
– We know that social media in particular has deteriorated young women's mental health, and we know that mental health problems and loneliness make it much harder to find a partner and start a family, she says and adds:
– It also affects the quality of relationships. We know that screen time itself, regardless of what you do on the device, makes you less satisfied with your relationship and increases the risk of divorce.
