As governments around the world struggle with ways to reverse plunging birth rates, new U.S. studies suggest they have ignored a key culprit -- the smartphone.

As governments around the world struggle with ways to reverse plunging birth rates, new U.S. studies suggest they have ignored a key culprit – the smartphone.

“Is the iPhone Birth Control?” asked a paper published Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research, delving into why U.S. fertility rates have fallen by 22 percent since 2007.

For a while, experts linked the decline to the recession that struck in 2008 when the global financial system nearly imploded, driving millions of people into hardship. But when the economy picked up, a rebound in births never came.

Myriad other reasons have been posited, such as increased use of contraception, more female education, and growing housing or childcare costs. However, no clear cause has been established.

  • RememberTheApollo_
    53·
    2 days ago

    When the economy rebounded?

    For who did the economy rebound?

    Re-do the study and check it against people’s disposable income levels. I’d be willing to bet the “birth bracket” moved to a higher income level thanks to inflation, housing, and food costs among others. Not the smart phone’s fault, it’s an economic problem. The study looked at poverty rates, but government defined poverty rates aren’t the same as the economic hopelessness felt by many even in the middle class.