Dear founders: Children are not a distraction, they are motivation
It's astounding that we have come so far that this needs to be defended. Throughout history, civilizations which held the nuclear family as their most important asset have absolutely dominated the world. This is due to simple evolutionary forces, which for K-selected species, favor fewer offspring which have much longer weaning periods. As a result, parents who invested more in providing their offspring with education and sustenance did substantially better as a society than their competitors.<p>It is quite ironic that the vast wealth accumulated by the western world, which was built upon the nuclear family as its foundation, has now allowed the next generation such freedom that they can dally as singles for significant portions of their lives. That being said, singles are very productive in short bursts, but these are unstable and fuelled by emotional insecurity which, as mentioned in the article, inevitably lead to burnout.<p>Society will inevitably return to its nuclear family origins, as the fun loving singles will not provide offspring in quality and quantity to compete with these traditional families.<p>Moral of the story: don't be so quick to condemn the old ways of family life. They have survived for millenia, and will continue to do so long after we're gone.