It was already 5.30 pm as shown on my laptop screen. After a day of working to make a living, I immediately closed my laptop without thinking twice and took a break by lying down on my bed.

 

Being 25 years old in this generation, we often see and hear that our 20s are the right time to explore ourselves to get the job we want. The young generation today is very ambitious and enthusiastic to learn new things and improve their skills to adapt to the highly competitive job market. However, what happens if the young population in a country is declining? That thought crossed my mind while doom-scrolling on various social media.

 

One interesting read is from a Deutsche Welle article that explains how some Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea, are experiencing a significant population decline. The decline is not trivial! South Korea's population has been declining since 2015, and according to a report from Geopolitical Intelligence Services, South Korea's population has decreased by 0.36% per year. Japan also experiences a decline in its population by 0.17% per year.

 

Similarly, in Southeast Asian countries, according to the Asian Development Bank, population growth in Southeast Asia was not more than 1.1% during 2015-2020. Therefore, while reading some of these articles, I wondered what caused this decline, and it turned out that the cause was not a single factor.

 

No flat, no child is a common thing among Singaporeans. Most young people prefer to be financially stable before settling down to build a family. Many young couples in Singapore are marrying older, with a median age at first marriage of 30 years old for males and 28 years old for females. Singaporeans are also marrying less, with only under 50% of unmarried residents (15–49 year-olds) ever getting married.

 

Apart from the challenge posed by high property prices, financial strains also add to the complexity of the decision to have a child. High living expenses can be aggravated by the significant investment required for a child's education. Expenditures on "shadow education" like cram schools and home tutoring can even account for a substantial portion of the country's GDP, such as 0.19% in Japan and 1.72% in South Korea (Bray and Lykins 2012). Additionally, many women choose to delay or forego marriage to prioritize their careers due to traditional gender expectations that wives should work less and eventually become stay-at-home mothers.

 

Population decrease has both positive and negative impacts. On the positive side, it can lead to reduced environmental damage as demand for natural resources declines. According to a study by IHME, fewer people could mean lower carbon emissions, less strain on global food systems, and a reduced risk of exceeding planetary limits. However, on the negative side, it may result in economic decline due to a smaller working-age population.

 

As I read more and dug deeper into this topic, I was reminded of something very close to me: As we grow older, our parents also grow old. This thought suddenly came to mind when I heard the sound of a violin in my house. Without further ado, I followed the source of the sound, which seemed like imperfect playing, and it turned out to be my mother learning to play a Greensleeves song.

 

At almost 60 years old, my mother did not have any musical talent in her family, but she persisted in learning to play the violin. "I find my happiness by playing the violin. Although I can’t sing, playing a tune on the violin makes me happy, even if my playing is not perfect," she said.

 

As she rested, my mother continued to tell me about her current activities, including writing anthologies for children’s books. According to her, writing children's stories is her favorite because they are simple yet meaningful. "I am not smart and not a graduate of a bachelor's degree, but I want to leave something through my written stories to inspire, and spread goodness and virtues to all readers. Hopefully, I can soon publish a solo book for children's stories," explained my mom.

 

Listening to my mother's story made me reflect on my position as her child. Even at an age that is no longer young, my mother still wants to learn and try new things. Society may be more aware of how to care for and guide children as they grow up, but have we considered how to care for and guide our parents as they age? 

Sometimes we forget that as they approach retirement age, our parents are confused and fearful about what to do with their remaining lives. In the end, I am currently learning to understand and guide my parents before they enter their older years, just as they understood and guided me when I was young. We concluded our talks in the living room as my mother shared her final thoughts, "In the remaining years of my life, I want to live a more useful, meaningful, and colorful life."