This essay provides a series of reflections on the current state of demography as seen by four early-career researchers who are actively engaged in aspects of the discipline as varied as research, teaching, mentorship, data collection efforts, policy making, and policy advising. Despite some claims that the discipline is weakening, we showcase the great potential of the field and outline promising pathways and novel directions for the future. In so doing, we critically assess recent innovations in data quality and availability, stressing the need to “revolutionize” the way that demographic methods are taught by adopting a viewpoint that more closely reflects the rapidly changing, or “fast,” nature of global social phenomena such as conflict-related displacements, environmental disasters, migration streams, pandemics, and evolving population policies. We conclude by discussing the relevance of careful demographic analyses for policy making, stressing three main points: (i) the need to make demography more visible and understandable to the public eye; (ii) the importance of engaging and co-creating with local communities to “break” the academic bubble; and (iii) the urge to counteract the spread of misinformation—a phenomenon that has become even more visible in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak.

本文对四位早期职业研究人员所看到的人口学现状进行了一系列反思，他们积极从事该学科的研究、教学、指导、数据收集工作、政策制定和政策咨询等各个方面。尽管有人声称该学科正在衰弱，但我们展示了该领域的巨大潜力，并概述了未来有希望的途径和新颖的方向。在此过程中，我们批判性地评估了最近在数据质量和可用性方面的创新，强调需要通过采取更贴近地反映全球社会快速变化或“快速”性质的观点来“彻底改变”人口统计方法的教学方式。诸如与冲突有关的流离失所、环境灾害、移民潮、流行病等现象，以及不断变化的人口政策。最后，我们讨论了仔细的人口分析对政策制定的相关性，强调了三个要点：(i) 需要使人口学对公众来说更加可见和易于理解；(ii) 与当地社区参与和共同创造以“打破”学术泡沫的重要性；(iii) 抵制错误信息传播的冲动——这种现象在 COVID-19 爆发后变得更加明显。(i) 需要让公众更容易了解和理解人口统计；(ii) 与当地社区参与和共同创造以“打破”学术泡沫的重要性；(iii) 抵制错误信息传播的冲动——这种现象在 COVID-19 爆发后变得更加明显。(i) 需要让公众更容易了解和理解人口统计；(ii) 与当地社区参与和共同创造以“打破”学术泡沫的重要性；(iii) 抵制错误信息传播的冲动——这种现象在 COVID-19 爆发后变得更加明显。