Finland: Study shows link between time spent online and desire to have children

A recent study published in the journal, Marriage and Family Review, outlines some of the main reasons that people choose to postpone or renounce childbearing in Finland. This includes the idea of a correlation between time spent online and people’s wish to have children.

The study examined some of the reasons given by people to postpone childbearing during the fertility decline in Finland in the 2010s, said the paper. Therefore, the data used for this research is from the two recent Finnish Family Barometers in 2015 and 2018. The representative survey was conducted by Väestöliitto, the Family Federation of Finland, said the reports.

Using this data, the paper titled “Reasons to Postpone Childbearing during Fertility Decline in Finland,” tried to explain the sharp decline in the birth rate in Finland. The study analysed the data collected from at least 3,468 people who were aged between 20-44.

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The participants were asked about their desire to have children, half of whom said that they did not want or no longer want to have children. On the other hand, 36.6% of people have postponed their plans to have kids. While 13.4% said that they don’t know whether they plan to have children or more children.

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The study showed three main groups of reasons why people deferred or decided not to have children, including uncertain lifestyle situations, lifestyle preferences and completed fertility, indicated one of the authors of the study, Kateryna Savelieva of the University of Helsinki, Finland.

“Uncertain life situations emerged as the strongest factor behind the decision to postpone or not to have children,” said the paper, which comprised of many uncertainties ranging from the financial situation, own or spouse’s unfinished education to the size of the apartment and so on.

The second reason most people reportedly gave was that they preferred to stick to their current lifestyle which led them to postpone their decision to have children or not have children. Lastly, the third reason was completed fertility which indicated that people have already completed their childbearing goals.

According to the study, there was a correlation between people who cited their desire to not change their lifestyle and those who were concerned about insecurity in their situation being the ones that use social media the most and are more inclined towards their work.

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Overall, participants that have a stable lifestyle, are infrequent social media users, and are less work-oriented were less likely to report uncertainties toward childbearing. On the other hand, participants, particularly women with no children, who use social media frequently and are more work-oriented were the ones that listed lifestyle preferences as the reason for postponing having children or having more children, said the report. Additionally, factors like financial crisis and unemployment also have an impact on the fertility rate, says the study.

This study also shows the first systematic analysis of reasons with which adults have explained their decision to postpone or renounce childbearing in Finland during the 2010s fertility decline, said a media report. Notably, the data was collected prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, therefore, does not account for how these attitudes may have changed in recent times of crisis.

(With inputs from agencies)