62.9% of youth agree: "Humanity is doomed"

The forests are burning, Europe just experienced another apocalyptic heat wave, and narcissistic egomaniacs drool over lobbing nuclear weapons at Iran.

Still, people shock me every day with their decision to bring human life into this hell hole. I can understand that biological urges occasionally override common sense. But it only takes an ounce of foresight to imagine what that child's experience might be in 30, 20, 10 years.

Studies show most Americans aged 18–25 years agree with me.

According to a recent study of American youth, 62.9% agree: "humanity is doomed". The same survey found that almost all agreed that the climate was changing. Remarkably, the findings were fairly consistent across party lines.

These same respondents shared their emotional reaction to climate change:

Young adults are scared and doomed yet having kids. So what is going on?

A couple possibilities.

1) I'm suffering from observation bias. As someone who studies existential risk for a good time, I am acutely aware of the future facing children and am more sensitive to observation. In actuality, the American birth rate continues to decline.

The chart below (Source: Macrotrends) shows that the birth rate in the US has declined significantly from the mid-20th century. Interestingly, it has remained level since about 2018. It appears safe to argue that millennials and younger are indeed having fewer kids.

2) Those who are still having kids might simply be yolo-ing through life. Young, dumb, and broke. Living one day at a time taking the punches as they come. I know plenty of people like this. They don't save for retirement either.

3) As a coping tactic, youth are probably compartmentalizing their lives. They're fully aware of impending doom...when they have time to think about it. But the distractions of daily life push their worries to the side. Some build a mental box around climate collapse. Others can't contextualize tangible decisions against abstract long-term concepts.

What else did respondents say?

• 85.0% of respondents report being at least moderately worried about climate change and its impacts on people and the planet, with 57.9% describing themselves as very or extremely worried.
• 76.2% view the future as frightening.
• 88.0% state that people have failed to take care of the planet, and 74.6% do not want to participate in a social and economic system that harms the earth.
• 42.8% report that climate change impacts their mental health, and 38.3% state that their feelings about it negatively affect their daily life (such as ability to concentrate, sleep, eat, or enjoy relationships).

So do they report this changing their behavior?

• 59.5% question whether the work they put into their education will matter, and 57.9% question whether the work put into their career will matter.
• 52.3% express hesitation about having children due to climate change.
• 67.4% state they are likely to choose employers based on a demonstrated commitment to sustainability and reducing climate impact.
• 67.3% report being likely to stop buying products and services that contribute to climate change, and 68.2% plan to decrease their own or their family's environmental impact.
• 69.4% state that climate change will influence where they choose to live.
• 72.8% indicate they are likely to vote for political candidates who support aggressive climate policies.

I hope you found this article useful. If you’re new here, I’m Sarah Connor and since September 2023 I’ve written hundreds of articles covering civilizational collapse.

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The Last Collapse

What the end actually looks like, and why humanity can never rebuild

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The Planet is Dying but You’ve Got Work on Monday

A Letter to the Newly Awake

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Governments are asking their citizens to be ready

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Sarah