Fertility Choices in the Algorithmic Age: Schemas as the Core Driver and the Buffering Role of Future Time Orientation

Objectives: In the context of low fertility and population aging, exploring how individuals form fertility intentions has become a critical topic. Based on the cognitive-social model, we investigated the influence of implicit schema (parentification) and rational assessment (value of children) on fertility intention. We also examined algorithmic media content awareness and future time orientation as situational moderating variables to delineate the dynamic generative mechanism of fertility cognition in a digital society. Methods: Survey data were collected online for this study (N=318) and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). Results: The results showed that the core determinants of fertility intentions were schematic patterns formed by early socialization rather than rational assessments; the information environment altered rational but not schematic paths, and future time orientation was a key condition for resisting negative interference from the information environment. Conclusion: The results enrich the cognitive theory of fertility decision-making and provide practical insights for policymaking and media intervention.