67% Think the Choice to Be Childfree Is Not Selfish

Most of us grow up feeling that we should have children and that our lives will be unfulfilled without them. We need new social norms, majority believe. Meetville.com (dating app to find the right person) released the results of the poll, conducted between 6/9/14 and 8/28/14.

The poll asked people to respond to the following question: “What is your attitude towards the childfree life: positive or negative?” The figures indicate that 67% respect the decision not to have children.

Participants numbered 55,813. From the USA - 51%, from Canada - 4%, from Britain - 11%, from Australia - 6% and from other countries - 28%.

Jill Filipovic, a blogger at Feministe,inspired by a book by psychologist Ellen Walker “Complete without kids”, states: “The choice to be childfree is admirable, not selfish. Encouraging women and men to really assess their own lives, circumstances, values and desires, and evaluate whether a child is an addition they want, helps individuals to make more informed and affirming decisions.”

It is interesting that men and women were equally represented on both sides, with 77% of males out of those who voted “positive”, and 78% - out of “negative” votes.

Alex Cusper, Meetville service analyst, says there should be equal representation of men and women, “As having a child is a decision of two. It is something you do if both of you feel you can give a child a good life with all the emotional and financial resources to do so.”

Meetville, a leading mobile dating service, regularly conducts research among its users. Millions of people from the U.S., Canada, Britain and Australia answer hundreds of questions every month. You can find the results of the poll here. If you are interested in research on a particular topic, please contact us. Any reprint of the material should be followed by clickable links to the survey.