Surely that's a matter of personal choice rather than an "activist's" stance on non procreation?

It's fair enough to not want children, but anti child propaganda IS a pretty prevalent and wide reaching thing.
It's why I included "would otherwise have made good parents" (not my exact wording, but still)

Overpopulation, climate change, 'pre established general awfulness', etc.
There are things you can guilt people into, "for the greater good" and all that, even though whichever propaganda piece is being brought up, might just be quite overblown, or, if not overblown, overgeneralized.

Thankfully that very last point gets a bit alleviated by living in rural/not densely populated areas. So people there generally go "Yeah sure, but one more child can surely fit in here"

Anyway, even if it's not straight up propaganda, the tendency of humans (myself included) to want to normalize shortcomings and co by spreading them to others is sad, too.
And I get that, I'm very very lazy and I sit around a lot. I'm not huge or anything, but I've got a prime nerd body that has turned dad bod.

Not unsalvageable, but...ehh, it's so hot...and then it's gonna be so cold, and in the short period between cold and hot I do all the things I procrastinated about due to it being hot and stuff.

Still, i wouldn't advocate to normalize it. It is extreeeemely more beneficient to be strong, fit, have good posture, and it doesn't even take that much effort.
But, I rarely put that effort in, so I am inferior to a lot of people who do basic stuff with all the drawbacks that entails.

I will not advocate for it, though. I am aware of a problem and I'm not fixing it. So the least I can do is do my best to take the lumps for it.

That said, there is a place that goes beyond sensibilities in the other direction too, and social media tends to grind regular folk between those millstones.

Many a times I've seen younger people questioning themselves, thinking "they're on the spectrum", autismal etc for enjoying a quiet evening without hype, emoji spam, media deluges, and all that.

Same with hedonism in general. Those incentives are tainted too.
"Am I a failure for not being blackout drunk at a frat party with three chicks all over me?"

Yeah, that's a failure, but only for wanting to be a frat boy with chicks all over you, and I deliberately pulled a 'sex' example because those are the worst. Always makes one look bitter and spiteful when going "no it's fine if you don't bang around" , that's where they hit you with the FOMOs and scoffing "Sounds like someone is jeaaaaalouuuussss" etc.

And the worst thing? Nowaways, even if you DO go for it, you might be called a simp or whatever term they use now to reduce human bonding.

So, we do have a huge mess of all sorts of mind minefields to navigate through, all on top of ultra draining frameworks like fiat/usury based 'global economies' and co.

And people wonder why birthrates drop. Can't do anything right these days, everything seems overcomplicated, and (social) media is the biggest culprit in it all, at least in my opinion.

It's not THAT hard to do the whole human bond thing, after all, it's been quite well established for thousands of years. People have done it in primitive times just fine.

But now? Yeah, the moment you think about it, and media wants that the most, is the moment you get led astray, get lied to, etc.
(Edit: And women/girls get a lot of tainted incentives, too. But I don't wanna rag on em. I should, since they are more important and that's why they get targeted first. But not right now. Maybe later.)

I don't like it.

I feel you read to much Karl Marx By the way: to think this way you're also putting yourself into the "elite" category. And the factories and distribution centers are there to provide for the people, and major shareholders in companies are pension funds, that in turn provide for the people. So what is your problem?

BTW most people don't think a lot when trying to procreate; the sun, hormones and some alcohol will suffice.

However, because of the ongoing global urbanisation population growth will come to a halt in the foreseeable future, as shown by the United Nations forecast. And the beautiful thing is that it has nothing to do with any planning, any philosophy, any propaganda or any government but it is done by the people. It ís just because in the city children are relatively expensive.

Hmm, I think it goes a little beyond that. Since people living in the city tend to be richer anyhow...
I think one would need to disect urbanisation as such, see how it relates to having families in general.
Something careers more important than kids something something...
In any case, sometimes it's nice how the human race instinctively reacts, over generations.

Now I'm reminded of Anne Clark... or rather Philip Larkin

Shouldn't the elites be promoting procreation among the "plebs" then? (so that there will be an oversupply of labour, making it cheaper)

You're probably right about that.

A side note: although the mean income in the city is higher than in rural areas, the poverty ratings are ALSO higher, as shown for the US in this article from the US Census Bureau. To me this shows that in urban areas there is more poverty and a larger income divide.

Certainly in my country poverty is mainly found in urban areas, not in the rural areas; the three largest cities have threefold the percentage of poor people over other municipalities. And while cities have more services, also more services that target the poor, in rural areas poor people are embedded in their family structures, generally know their way around better, don't have to pay steep urban prices, don't have to pay for parking space, pay less for fuel, and so on.

I'm firmly in the "pleb" category. My observation about the existence of a global elite and how the "masses" are viewed by said elite, don't make me "elite".
The factories and distribution centres are there to make a profit for private entities or shareholders first and foremost. They are not public services as you seem to suggest.

I would also like to suggest that private pension funds are there for the few who can afford them, not for the many - and that they are also "for profit" enterprises.
Not sure how to interpret that. Do you have a problem with my problem as you perceive it?
A very "elitist" point of view, I must say... The majority of people have to plan having children due to the added financial burden, time and extra space, etc, which is required.

And who are the shareholdes do you think?

Don't know about you but where I live ALL people that have a job are mandatory included in a pension scheme. And all those schemes are managed by pension funds. Those are large investors.

Sure.. I grew up in one of the worst neighbourhoods in the country, I had to work to pay for my education and I know there is no such thing as romance in having no money to spend so please don't tell me what elitist is. And you don´t have to tell me what working in a distribution center means because ´been there, done that.

I think you need to rewind and look at your first reply to me and reevaluate just who it was that dived into the thread specifically to deliver a condescending put down... etc. If you can't communicate without hostility, then I have no further desire to reply to you at all.

I am sorry that my reply seemed hostile to you, it was not intended as such. I am Dutch and political debate over here is always rather blunt. However I never play the man, only the ball as we say.

Anyway I feel we will never agree about the way the world works and that is fine too. Maybe we can be happy that we aren't arrested for the things we say and we (still) live in a free society.

Heard a curious statement from a pot store clerk in Colorado while playing dirt bike rider.

He said, " Yeah, wasted 10 years on online activities"

I lumped gaming into that statement in my brain since the dude/clerk is a millennial.

10 years? That is long time.