The New York Times publishes two basic kinds of articles about family life in America: opinion pieces by women describing how terrible their husbands are and puff pieces promoting alternative family lifestyles.

Last week, the outlet published one of the latter under the headline, “In Search of a Platonic Co-Parent.” Apparently, the burden of finding someone you are romantically interested in has become so great that increasing numbers of midlife professionals who think they want children are using apps to help match them not with a date, but with a platonic co-parent.