Fertility rates have been declining for decades, but the decline has accelerated over the past 20 years, and researchers are still trying to fully explain why.
Now, new research suggests that the device that has come to define modern life may be playing a role: the iPhone.
The smartphone, first released in 2007, coincides with a shift in birth habits in the United States and elsewhere. That time prompted American economist Caitlin Myers of Middlebury College in Vermont to investigate whether the two could be connected.
“Interesting question. Why are births so low?” Myers said in an interview. “In the United States, births have dropped by nearly a quarter since 2007.”
Her research examines whether increased screen time and the shift to digital interaction may be reducing human contact, indirectly leading to fewer pregnancies.
Get weekly health news
Get the latest medical news and health information brought to you every Sunday.
To test the hypothesis, Myers analyzed birth rates in all US states in the first years after the iPhone was released. 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 contraception policy, he found birth rates fell faster in areas where the iPhone was available.
“We’ve seen births drop off quickly in places where you can get an iPhone,” Myers said.
The theory is simple: more time spent online can mean less time spent together in person. “It’s hard to get pregnant when you’re not in person with someone,” she told Global News.
Fertility rates are now well below replacement rates in many countries. In the United States, the average is around 1.6 children per woman. In Canada, it is much lower, about 1.25.
And the trend is not limited to rich countries. Declining birth rates are being recorded around the world.
Still, experts warn that smartphones are unlikely to be the only cause.
The 2000s brought major social and economic changes that are widely believed to be contributing to so-called “child molestation.” These include the global financial crisis, rising housing costs, higher education levels and wider access to contraception.
Celia Chandler, an author who writes about her experience of “childlessness by choice,” says it can be easy to distinguish between technology and people who decide not to have children.
“I think it might be simplistic to say that technology is preventing people from having children,” she said.
Chandler says one of the most important changes in recent decades is that more people, especially women, feel empowered to choose whether or not to become a parent.
“I feel very lucky that I was born at the time I chose,” she said.
The researchers admit that the iPhone itself is unlikely to explain such a complex global trend on its own, but they say it could be part of a wider change in the way people connect, form relationships and organize their lives.
