iPhone may be one factor in falling birth rates, researchers say
iPhone may be one factor in falling birth rates, researchers say
https://globalnews.ca/news/11902945/birth-rates-decline-fall-phone-study/
Publish Date: 2026-06-13 06:00:00
Source Domain: globalnews.ca
Fertility rates have been declining for decades, but the drop has accelerated sharply over the past 20 years, and researchers are still trying to fully explain why.
Now, new research suggests a device that has come to define modern life may be playing a role: the iPhone.
The smartphone, first released in 2007, coincides with a turning point in birth trends in the United States and elsewhere. That timing prompted U.S. economist Caitlin Myers of Middlebury College in Vermont to investigate whether the two could be connected.
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“It’s a fascinating question. Why are births plummeting?” Myers said in an interview. “In the United States, births have fallen by almost a quarter since 2007.”
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Her research looks at whether increased screen time and the shift toward digital interaction may be reducing in-person contact, indirectly leading to fewer pregnancies.
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To test the idea, Myers analyzed birth rates across U.S. counties in the early years after the iPhone’s release. At the time, the device was only available through AT&T, meaning some regions had access while others did not.
By comparing those areas and controlling for factors such as income, education and contraceptive policy, she found birth rates dropped more quickly in places where the iPhone was available.
“We observed that births fell much faster in the places where you could get an iPhone,” Myers said.
The theory is simple: more time spent online could mean less time spent together in person. “It’s hard to get pregnant when you’re not in person…
