Millennial man says society treats him differently for choosing not to have kids in his 30s

Deciding whether or not to have children has always been a significant and deeply personal choice. However, rising living costs and ongoing economic uncertainty have made this decision even more challenging in recent years. Mike Mancusi, a millennial based in New York, struck a chord with many online when he shared his honest thoughts about being child-free in 2024 and navigating social spaces filled with parents. Known as @mikemancusi on TikTok, he opened up about his experience in a candid video.

"One thing I have noticed about not having kids in your 30s is that people don't care about your life anymore," he said in the video that amassed over 261,000 views on the social media platform. "It's funny," he added. "You go to a gathering and now people around your age have kids, so there are kids and babies at these parties and your adult life is just not even on their radar anymore," he expressed in the video. "They all collectively [believe] that your existing life is boring, they have a new life and it's much more interesting," he said.

Mike clarified that he doesn’t take it personally. "I am not going like, 'Oh why don't they care about me?' I get it, the babies are more interesting and I get that, but it's just funny to see how disinterested people are," he said before adding that people simply ask him questions for the sake of it and don't even care if he answers. Later, in an interview with Newsweek, Mancusi says how he doesn't want kids. "But a lot of us grew up being told 'go to college, get a job, and have kids,' do all of those things, ideally in that order, and you will be happy," he said. "On top of that, the financial state of the country just does not allow our rational brains to understand how it is possible to have kids unless you have a trust fund or a salary that is in the top 5 percent of the country. So, a lot of people around my age, I think, have slowly come to the realization that maybe we need to make peace in whatever time we get on this planet without children," he adds. 

People in the comment section couldn't agree more with Mancusi. "There is nothing less interesting than hearing about someone’s kids," wrote @donnjonn1. "When you have kids, we just have no time for our adult lives anymore. The baby is all that matters from now on. Parenthood is forever," added @mottskiii. "They are envious of your life… a lot of people wish they didn’t have kids after they have them," expressed @no.diddy.69. Another person @pushiito who is a parent wrote, "I feel bad for you everyone feels like they have to take sides. I have a kid and my friends love him and I love to hear about their lives at the same time. It’s almost like you can do both?"

You can follow Mike Mancusi (@mikemancusi) for more funny content on TikTok.