>>509194450I do not require or desire help.
>>509194548I think a lot of people have given up on the idea of getting married and having kids. Finding a partner is difficult enough these days. Finding a partner who wants kids is another problem. Then there's the matter of actually affording said kids. The cost of living is rising across all factors of life. Kids need an extra room in the house. They demand a higher grocery bill. You need to add them to a health insurance plan, which costs extra. Even with a lot of clever budgeting and living frugally (they don't need a cell phone, you can maybe get them hand-me-down clothes, etc...), many people are quite uncertain that the future will get better in any capacity, and are just unwilling to have kids in such an environment.
So they want any form of surrogate possible. For some, it's pets, since they're cheap. For others, it's simping for vtubers, or just watching as much anime as possible and living vicariously through the characters.