Birth rates for girls aged 15 to 19 dropped 26% in counties with widespread smartphone access, compared with a 14% decline elsewhere
A recent study suggests smartphones may have played a much bigger role in America’s declining birth rate than previously believed, reigniting debate over why fewer Americans are having children.
While researchers have long blamed rising childcare costs, economic uncertainty and changing social norms, economists from Middlebury College argue that the arrival of the iPhone in 2007 marked a turning point.
They found that counties with early smartphone access experienced much steeper declines in fertility between 2007 and 2011 than areas where smartphone coverage remained limited.
Sharpest decline among teenagers
The decline was most dramatic among teenagers. Birth rates for girls aged 15 to 19 dropped 26% in counties with widespread smartphone access, compared with a 14% decline elsewhere.
Birth rates also fell faster among women in their 20s and 30s. The researchers estimate smartphones may explain one-third to one-half of the overall decline in US fertility during that period.
They believe smartphones changed how young people spend their time, replacing face-to-face interactions with online entertainment, social media and digital communication, reducing opportunities for relationships and unintended pregnancies.
However, many experts remain unconvinced. They note that US fertility has been falling for decades, long before smartphones appeared, and point to other powerful factors, including late marriages, improved access to contraception, rising housing and education costs, changing career priorities and shifting social values.
Researchers agree smartphones may be part of the story, but they are unlikely to be the sole reason behind America's long-term decline in births.