Jānis Garančs

audiovisual XR art | immersion (VR, 3D, stereoscopy, sound, etc) research

[More Births @MoreBirths]

The UN just published the results of a massive survey of 108,000 young adults 18-39 in 73 countries.

More than 75% of *childless* respondents age 35-39 still ideally wanted to have children.

But at 35, just 25% of childless women will ever have children. At 40 it is just 7%.

[Stephen J Shaw @StephenJShaw]

Confirmed: Unplanned Childlessness is the dominant trend of our times.

The UN just confirmed 72% of women and 80% of men aged 35-39 without kids, across the globe, still want them. And from my own research, most won't get the chance – and many who no longer dream of a family once did.

This is a long way from 2023, when a Cambridge University college cancelled a screening of my documentary Birthgap after students branded it misogynistic. It was the first work to identify the Unplanned Childlessness phenomenon across the globe and its role in driving the collapse in birth rates.

Nice to have the UN on board !

Thank you to those who've helped spread my research: @ChrisWillx @KonstantinKisin @francisjfoster @jordanbpeterson, @MarioNawfal ,@ZubyMusic – plus many, many more.

Birthgap documentary: https://t.co/e3Qg2ESXhr

The new UN report: : https://t.co/FXEU9irYKx

My published paper on the topic in Nature Portfolio: https://t.co/jX9L6RZ5YI

[Vatnik Soup @P_Kallioniemi]

A migrant from Pakistan is documenting his journey from Peshawar to Moscow. From Russia, Pakistani migrants are transported to Belarus, where they cross into Europe through Poland or the Baltic states. These trips are advertised on social media.

It's a sophisticated system designed to destabilize Europe while simultaneously boosting support for far-right, pro-Kremlin parties such as AfD and Lega.

[Jānis Garančs @Garancs]

@pucej @Janislieliskais te arī sakne. pamats ir ekonomisks! ekonomiskā spriedze un nedrošība, sevisķi jauniešiem karjeras sākumā un krīzes - te arī parādās ka notiecošais ir pārāk lielā, nekompensētā produktivitātes/turības/laika resursu starpība starp bērnu un bezbērnu mājsaimniecībām - to jākompensē!

[Jānis Garančs @Garancs]

@pucej Ekonomika, kas pelna no bezbērnu dzīvesveida, pati sev rok bedri — mūsdienu sieviešu darbs un urbānā dzīve (noteikumi utt) padara bērnu audzināšanu par publisku infrastruktūru(!), ne privātu hobiju; bez subsīdijām bērniem sabiedrība vienkārši izsīkst. @IevaSt @Janislieliskais

[Jānis Garančs @Garancs]

@Elina_Treija @JanisIkstens vērtības (arī vīriešu un sieviešu starpā) ietekmē dzimstību bet demogrāfija pati arī maina vērtību politisko pārstāvniecību (pensionāru balsošanas īpatsvars) bet arī caur to, ka ts "liberāliem" vecākiem dzimst mazāk bērnu (+ vecāki pārnes vērtības bērniem) https://t.co/Mm4dvP9sdv

[Jānis Garančs @Garancs]

@Elina_Treija @JanisIkstens 1) dzimstības veicināšanas skeptiķi vienmēr uzķeras uz loģisko kļūdu - ja nav izdevies apgriezt visu lielo tendenci "pa lēto" - tad atbalsts "nedarbojoties" principā! Darbojas gan! 2) svaigāks piemērs no Korejas: https://t.co/r1tpR7zSdA

[Jānis Garančs @Garancs]

https://t.co/TIR7uCQTVH

[Jānis Garančs @Garancs]

confluxus [+][×] corner portals: two stereoscopic 3D projections transform the gallery’s 90° corner into a simulated zone of transition and confluence.
https://t.co/bOWmdxHnj7

[Jānis Garančs @Garancs]

Exciting ERASMUS+ visit to Johannes Kepler Universität Linz this week + catching also the VINCI2025 conference https://t.co/79TEHAGN9v where I was presenting my paper 'Bridging Immersive Analytics and Affect: Audiovisual XR Sceneries of Financial Transactions' (soon in ACM DL)

[Jānis Garančs @Garancs]

@guntarsv @MGabalins visi dati pilnīgi pretēji jūsu apgalvojumiem:
https://t.co/gdfzTIihuu

[Jānis Garančs @Garancs]

@saliktengriba @pppascenko Citur finansējums biežāk nāk no vietējām bankām vai obligācijām, LV parāda turētāji gk ir ārvalstu fondi un struktūras → procentu maksājumi aizplūst prom. LV 2024/2025: parāda apkalpošanai izdeva ~2% IKP jeb >€900m, bet savai zinātnei/R&D dodam vien ~0.7% IKP jeb ~€330m :(

[Jānis Garančs @Garancs]

@AivarsOzo Vardarbībai un degradācijai lielākais pamats ir dzeršana un krīzes, kas ir apburts aplis. LV valdība dzeršanu neapkaro,pat veicina piem "VKKF finansējums 1998.-2018, un atkal kopš 2022 veidots no alkohola un tabakas akcīzes nodokļa ieņēmumiem kā "ilgtspējīgs, stabils finansējums"

[Renki @HikaruiTen]

Finland released a list of 20 proposals to increase their low fertility rate. Here is the list:

1. Organize a youth hearing on family and childbearing wishes
The government should hold consultations with 20–29-year-olds to map their views on family and children, gathering feedback on policy proposals. This fosters dialogue to address declining fertility linked to evolving values, lifestyles, and relationships.

2. Initiate broad societal discussion on fertility decline: Launch nationwide talks on causes, impacts, and support for child wishes, involving labor market parties, educators, immigration, and population policy. Tie it to a comprehensive population policy report to build consensus in this novel low-fertility context.

3. Develop economic incentives for first child before age 30: Introduce financial perks like housing loan relief, student debt reduction, tax breaks, or pension boosts for women having their first child before 30. This counters late parenthood in Finland, which raises infertility risks, with evidence showing incentives aid timely family planning.

4. Enhance education policy for higher attainment and flexibility: Raise education levels above OECD average, shorten study durations, accelerate graduation, and ease combining studies with parenting. Higher education correlates with better child wish realization, supporting human capital in an aging society without delaying families.

5.Boost employment to support family formation: Increase overall employment, especially for men, while reducing fixed-term contracts, chaining, and pregnancy discrimination for women. Stable jobs and income reduce uncertainties that deter childbearing.

6. Incorporate fertility awareness into education: Integrate fertility knowledge into school and institutional health, sexual, and emotional education curricula. This addresses knowledge gaps causing late childbearing and unintended infertility through early prevention.

7. Embed personalized fertility counseling in health services: Add tailored fertility guidance to existing youth/adult contraception, clinic, rehabilitation, social/health, and occupational services, possibly with targeted info packs (e.g., at age 26). This provides equitable, situation-specific support for family planning decisions.

8. Centralize sexual and reproductive health services regionally: Ensure all welfare areas offer specialized counseling and services, with easy access to gynecologists; consider reimbursements for private care if needed, leveraging NGOs for broader reach. This reduces regional disparities in fertility and relationship support.

9. Promote earlier childbearing while investing in infertility treatments: Support timely family starts to lower treatment needs, secure public funding for effective care, ensure no financial barriers via reimbursements, and expand psychosocial support. This tackles burdens from delayed parenthood.

10. Establish national coordination for fertility research: Create a multidisciplinary center/network to monitor birth rates, fertility, child wishes, reproductive health, and treatments; develop recommendations, programs, and training. This unifies fragmented research for holistic insights.

11. Prevent and swiftly address young adults' mental health issues: Focus on early intervention for mental health to bolster daily coping and relationships, as problems erode child aspirations and family formation.

12. Provide guidance on screen time for young adults: Offer advice, counseling, and support to manage screen use quality/quantity, promoting interpersonal skills and social bonds via national recommendations. Excessive screens harm relationships and well-being, impacting fertility.

13. Expand relationship support access for young adults: Guarantee counseling via child guidance/family clinics and boost student health resources. This strengthens fragile partnerships, reducing divorces and infertility risks.

14. Prioritize child families and education in public budgets: Freeze education spending cuts and maintain child benefits/services at ≥3% of GDP during adjustments. This safeguards family well-being amid aging demographics.

15. Explore broader compensation for childcare work: Long-term review to ensure child-rearing doesn't cut incomes or pensions; refine benefits to equalize low-income risks in larger families and protect part-time workers' retirement.

16. Campaign for family-friendly workplaces: Target employers to curb pregnancy discrimination, integrate work-family balance into equality plans, risk assessments, and health services. This minimizes conflicts and encourages childbearing.

17. Secure monitoring and development of early care and leaves: Allocate resources to evaluate and improve early childhood education and parental leave quality. These are key fertility supports, ensuring their ongoing effectiveness.
18. Enhance birth preparation and postpartum physiotherapy: Develop holistic birth trainings and provide recovery services to mothers. Negative birth experiences deter additional children; better support boosts family satisfaction.

19. Legislate relationship support rights for parents: Amend the social welfare act to grant families statutory access to couple counseling. Relationship strains affect child plans and raise divorce rates, lowering birth numbers.

20. Develop outreach and peer support for families: Create mobile services and peer networks; assess grandparents' roles in using leaves for grandchild care. This builds support webs to combat parental burnout in varied family structures.

[Jānis Garančs @Garancs]

Atgriežoties pie vecas sarunas, kur pamatoju, ka arī LV dzimstību vajag materiāli atbalstīt (jo krīt fin. nedrošībā) - kur daži "bet Āfrikā...": tieši augstāki ienākumi (stabilitāte) vecākiem Eiropā iedrošina @Elina_Treija @Borovkovs @DavidsZalans @zmeycharauski @IvarsAuzins

[More Births @MoreBirths]

Lower income had been associated with higher fertility but now that relationship has completely flipped in many developed countries.

Higher incomes are now associated with higher fertility almost everywhere in Europe, for both men and women, a 2025 paper shows.

[Crémieux @cremieuxrecueil]

Wow!

Across basically all of Europe, people at higher income levels are now *more likely* to become parents!

This is a stunning shift!

[Jānis Garančs @Garancs]

A week since back from Linz and participation in the #ArsElectronica Festival 2025, carrying good memories, inspiration, new acquaintances and friendships. The dramatic world events - ongoing wars and rise of authoritarianism - were discussed and reflected in artworks, too

[Jānis Garančs @Garancs]

@ainarsbr11 @Elina_Treija kāds Jūsu replikai sakars?! līknes, ko rādu nav iedz. skaits bet TFR. Imigrantus LV vēlas ārzemju banku filiāļu pseido-ekonomisti, A.Bites Karavelas, vietējos nodokļus nemaksājošie Bolt/Wolt, utml. Es, savukārt -investīcijas LV pašu - tagadnes un nākotnes -cilvēkkapitālā!

[Jānis Garančs @Garancs]

@ainarsbr11 @Elina_Treija atkal nesakars! 1) ja nesteigtos ar atbildi bet lasījis, Jūs ievērotu saistību ar rakstu par Indijas dzimstību lauku un pilsētu reģionos - tā pati sakarība ar Liebritāniju. 2) LV fertilajā vecumā latviešu ir visvairāk un pēdējais brīdis atbalstīt, kamēr nepārsniedz citi!

[Jānis Garančs @Garancs]

@ainarsbr11 @Elina_Treija nesaprotu kā kampaņu termins "populisms" attiecas uz reālu demogrāfijas atbalsta rīcību. Savukārt "kreisie" Ulmaņa, LPSR 1980+, VDR 80-to pasākumi un daži LV atbalsta pasākumi pēc 2000, Ungārija 2010, KDkoreja: cēla dzimstību. Neviena Jūsu teorija neapstiprinās ar datiem