Demographics
This week in class we have been talking about the demographics of family. We have been discussing the why and how of fertility rates changing over the decades.
There were two videos we were assigned to watch. In these videos I found some very interesting ideas that I’d like to share.
Idea 1 : Does it matter how many children I have?
The simple and most correct answer is yes. It does matter how many children I have. From a factual view, the amount of children I have will affect the population. The number 2.13 was mentioned in the videos as the number of children being born or not being born, which could effect the worlds population. This concept has two ways of effecting population:
1. If every family in the world has more than 2.13 children, then the worlds population would increase.
2. If every family in the world has less than 2.13 children, then the worlds population would decrease.
This picture represents what would happen if couples had more/less than 2.13 children in their families. Each tally represents a person.
Focus on the top portion of this diagram. It is like a pyramid. It starts with one person and multiplies into two, thee, four, etc.... This is representing what would happen if couples had bigger families, they would grow and populate.
Now turn your attention to the bottom half of the diagram. It shows what would happen if couples produce smaller families. Over time the population would decrease and the family would no longer be growing.
China is a great example of this phenomenon. There was a law enforced for many many years in which only one child was allowed per family. This was a problem for many reasons. Reason one: it caused parents to want boys to carry on the family name; duties girls could not fulfil. This led to couples abandoning their baby girls in order to have a boy. Reason two: instead of population control, there was depopulation. I do not think China could foresee the drastic result depopulation would have on its nation. Now China has a policy for families to have two children without a fine. While this is a good policy for families to be larger than they were before, it will still not allow for its population to grow because each family is not producing more than 2 children.
I really love how the top portion of this resembles a family tree. I know families are meant to be big and forever growing. God wants all of us to have large families so we can all experience mortal life together.
I often think how Satan tempts people today into corrupting the family. He can make us think we need money, fame, and power before a family. He can influence us to feel inadequate to be married or unqualified to raise children. He can implant ideas of gender attraction towards other people as well as augment feelings within ourselves. He has laid addictions such as pornography, drugs, alcohol, and cheating to break the family. The family is central to Gods plan; therefore, Satan seeks to destroy it.
Idea 2: Individualism.
Individualism is an interesting and complicated philosophy. According to dictionary.com, the philosophy of individualism is:
1. The doctrine that only individual things are real.
and
2. The doctrine or belief that all actions are determined by, or at least take place for, the benefit of the individual, not of society as a whole.
I know individualism is one of many controversial subjects I will write about, however, I would like to share some of my thoughts and impressions.
First, individualism is affecting families around the world. The Industrial Revolution was the first time the idea of individualism was introduced because farms turned into suburban living and factories allowed for all to have jobs. Next we experienced civil rights movements, two of which challenged black people’s rights and women’s voting. Over the decade’s, individualism has evolved which has changed the family demographic.
Now a day’s people are so worried about themselves. Fame, wealth, power, and social status are all above families. The rich and powerful set the standard of living a lavish life full of expensive parties, houses, travel, etc.… Generally, the rich and powerful don’t have large families, so the rest of us are under the impression that large families are overrated.
I am so thankful for my ancestors who lived before me to provide and fight for my rights that I have now. I am grateful for my ancestors who brought my family into the world. I have a large family who supports me and loves me. I know the generations on the earth today are raised differently than in generations past- today the vast majority of people think individually. With God’s help we can overcome this way of thinking and turn to do His work. We all live in a confused day and age were right is wrong and wrong is right.
I urge everyone in this world to seek their kindred dead. There are so many blessings from heaven we can all benefit from if we do so.
I also urge everyone to turn to our Heavenly Father when the decision comes to start a family. I believe when one has the mind set of ‘how many children does God want me to have?’ we will all be happier as individuals and as families.
Remember: never make a decision without Heavenly Fathers help.
Here are the links to the demographic winter videos mentioned above.
Note they are each about an hour long.
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