'DINK' couples declare 'double income no kids' as Musk slams growing new trend
Billionaire Elon Musk has slammed couples opting to not have children in the face of a growing cost-of-living crisis as the 'DINK' craze sparks debate online.
People praising the benefits of living the 'DINK' lifestyle (Dual Income, No Kids) have gone viral on social media. Their videos often consist of listing the many things they can do without the financial and time burden of having children.
In the viral videos, DINK couples boast about going on impromptu holidays, blowing their spare money on expensive coffees and getting the full eight hours sleep. But it has opened them up to a wave of criticism of people who think they should be having children.
TikToker Lilly Anne in a video praising the DINK lifestyle (lillyanne/TikTok)
Lilly Anne's partner appeared with her to boast about what they can do with the extra cash (lillyanne/TikTok)Writing on Twitter, the platform he bought for $44billion, Elon Musk said: "There is an awful morality to those who deliberately have no kids: they are effectively demanding that other people’s kids take care of them in their old age. That’s messed up."
Musk, who has 10 publicly-known-about children, has long been vocal about his views on having children. After it was revealed he had twins with Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis, he tweeted that he was "doing my best to help the under population crisis." He also said that "a collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far."
Viral sausage roll debate leaves Brits confused about how to order at Greggs
The videos praising the value of the DINK lifestyle have got millions of views online, but have also kicked off a debate about its pros and cons.
For all the latest news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to
The original video, which Musk responded to, was made by financial coach John Eringman. According to his bio on X, he helps DINKs 'master their money'.
Responding to the billionaire's criticism, Mr Eringman wrote: "Mr. Musk, DINKs have a higher net worth than any other family structure. They have more disposable income to invest. Why would we “demand other people’s kids to take care of us.” We can just pay for the highest quality care in our old age!"
The debate raged on X, with some defending the lifestyle with others slamming it.
Musk slammed the lifestyle as having an "awful morality" (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Musk with former partner Talulah Riley (Bloomberg via Getty Images)One user reasoned: "I may not have kids, but we're paying for other people's kids through our taxes...aren't we? So, they can take care of me when I'm older. Fair is fair."
But some of the criticism was brutal. One user wrote "You're both genetic dead ends congrats."
Others wondered if their kids would even take care of them. One mum questioned: "I’m not sure if my girls will take care of me when I get old. Just saying it’s not a guarantee."
Another user wrote: "The majority of elderly people in nursing homes have children. The majority of elderly people with kids are still put in nursing homes. Maybe it’s different where you were raised in South Africa but you’re in the US. You’re sorely mistaken. If you think kids take care of them here. some do. Most do not. Just the facts."
Although often meant in a lighthearted way, the acronyms have developed far beyond just DINK. There's DINKYs (Double Income, No Kids Yet), DINKWADs (Double Income No Kids With A Dog) and PODWOG (Parents Of Dink WithOut Grandkids).
Drink-driver steals JCB digger to smash into family house in revenge attack
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
