{"id":350265,"date":"2026-06-13T16:30:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T11:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=350265"},"modified":"2026-06-13T16:30:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T11:00:39","slug":"iphone-could-also-be-one-think-about-falling-birth-rates-researchers-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/13\/iphone-could-also-be-one-think-about-falling-birth-rates-researchers-say\/","title":{"rendered":"iPhone could also be one think about falling birth rates, researchers say"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>Fertility rates have been declining for a long time, however the drop has accelerated sharply over the past 20 years, and researchers are still trying to totally explain why.<\/p>\n<p>Now, latest research suggests a tool that has come to define modern life could also be playing a job: the iPhone.<\/p>\n<p>The smartphone, first released in 2007, coincides with a turning point in birth trends in the USA and elsewhere. That timing prompted U.S. economist Caitlin Myers of Middlebury College in Vermont to analyze whether the 2 may very well be connected.<\/p>\n<div class=\"l-article__part\" data-shortcode=\"tp_video\">\n<div class=\"c-video c-videoPlay \" data-iframe-receiver=\"\" data-autoplay=\"\" data-displayinline-featured=\"false\" data-displayinline-type=\"video\" data-displayinline-player-id=\"miniplayer_11740707_6a2d323530c76\" data-displayinline-video-id=\"11740707\" data-displayinline-ratio=\"16:9\" data-displayinline=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/video\/embed\/11740707\/#autoplay&#038;stickyiframe=miniplayer_11740707_6a2d323530c76\" data-displayinline-sticky=\"true\" data-permutive-data='{\"content\":{\"name\":\"Canada reports first annual population decline on record\",\"type\":\"video\",\"sections\":[\"videos\",\"national\",\"canada\"],\"keywords\":[\"short-clip\"],\"iab\":{\"categories\":[\"Health\",\"People and Society\",\"Health\/Reproductive Health\"],\"tags\":[\"2008 financial crisis\",\"Assisted reproductive technology\",\"Birth control\",\"Birth rate\",\"Caitlin Myers\",\"Canada\",\"Child\",\"Childbirth\",\"China\",\"Cost of living\",\"Economic growth\",\"Economist\",\"Economy\",\"Education\",\"Fertility\",\"Financial crisis\",\"Global News\",\"Income\",\"India\",\"Infant\",\"Inflation\",\"Injury\",\"Interview\",\"IPhone\",\"Middlebury College\",\"New York City\",\"Parental leave\",\"Policy\",\"Population decline\",\"Postpartum period\",\"Pregnancy\",\"Research\",\"Smartphone\",\"Sub-replacement fertility\",\"Technology\",\"Total fertility rate\",\"United States\",\"Upstate New York\",\"Voluntary childlessness\"]}}}'>\n<div class=\"c-video__inner \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__placeholder\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'Canada reports first annual population decline on record'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/o3u4rrrlrh-lp7hfyxed8\/NG_MH_OTT_CANADA_POPULA_OM01RUZQ_thumbnail_1280x720_.jpg?w=1040&#038;quality=70&#038;strip=all\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"\" sizes=\"auto, \" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1040px) 1040px,(min-width: 720px) 720px,450px\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__overlay\"><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"c-video__duration\">5:09<\/time><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__title\">Canada reports first annual population decline on record<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an enchanting query. Why are births plummeting?\u201d Myers said in an interview. \u201cIn the USA, births have fallen by almost 1 \/ 4 since 2007.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Her research looks at whether increased screen time and the shift toward digital interaction could also be reducing in-person contact, not directly resulting in fewer pregnancies.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup\" data-newsletter-inline=\"\">\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup__image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"170\" height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/images\/skyline\/healthiq.jpg\" alt=\"Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday.\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup__content\">\n<h2 class=\"c-inlineSignup__title\">Get weekly health news<\/h2>\n<p>Receive the newest medical news and health information delivered to you each Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>To check the concept, Myers analyzed birth rates across U.S. counties within the early years after the iPhone\u2019s release. On the time, the device was only available through AT&#038;T, meaning some regions had access while others didn&#8217;t.<\/p>\n<p>By comparing those areas and controlling for aspects reminiscent of income, education and contraceptive policy, she found birth rates dropped more quickly in places where the iPhone was available.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe observed that births fell much faster within the places where you may get an iPhone,\u201d Myers said.<\/p>\n<p>The speculation is straightforward: more time spent online could mean less time spent together in person. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to get pregnant whenever you\u2019re not in person with any individual,\u201d she told Global News.<\/p>\n<p>Fertility rates are actually well below substitute levels in lots of countries. In the USA, the speed sits at roughly 1.6 children per woman. In Canada, it&#8217;s even lower, at about 1.25.<\/p>\n<p>And the trend will not be limited to wealthy nations. Declining birth rates are being recorded all over the world.<\/p>\n<p>Still, experts caution that smartphones are unlikely to be the only real and even primary cause.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-tabs\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t<button role=\"tab\" class=\"c-tabs__tab c-tabs__tab--active\" type=\"button\">More on World<\/button><br \/>\n\t\t\t<button role=\"tab\" class=\"c-tabs__tab\" type=\"button\">More videos<\/button>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The 2000s brought a variety of major social and economic shifts which might be widely believed to be contributing to the so-called \u201cbaby bust.\u201d These include the worldwide financial crisis, rising housing costs, higher levels of education and broader access to contraception.<\/p>\n<p>Celia Chandler, a author who documents her experience being \u201cchildless by selection,\u201d says it might be a stretch to attract a direct line between technology and other people deciding to not have children.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do think it could be a little bit of a stretch to say that technology is stopping people from having children,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Chandler argues some of the necessary changes in recent a long time is that more people, particularly women, feel empowered to decide on whether or to not develop into a parent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel very fortunate that I used to be born at a time once I had a selection,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Researchers acknowledge that the iPhone itself is unlikely to elucidate such a fancy global trend by itself, but say it might be a part of a broader shift in how people connect, form relationships and structure their lives.<\/p>\n<div class=\"l-article__part\" data-shortcode=\"tp_video_miniplayer\">\n<section id=\"miniplayer_6a2d32353291f-carousel\" class=\"l-videoCarousel l-videoCarousel--embed c-carousel\" data-video-carousel-play-inline=\"true\" data-video-carousel-init=\"false\" 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childlessness\"]}}}'>\n<div class=\"c-video__inner \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__placeholder\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'Financial concern a key reason Canadians are having fewer kids: poll'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/0b83bsypqz-ojrkbg4oi8\/WEB_MN_SEAN_SIMPSON_FEB_29TH.jpg?w=1040&#038;quality=70&#038;strip=all\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"\" sizes=\"auto, \" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1040px) 1040px,(min-width: 720px) 720px,450px\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__overlay\"><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"c-video__duration\">3:39<\/time><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__title\">Financial concern a key reason Canadians are having fewer kids: poll<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"l-videoCarousel__glide glide \">\n<div class=\"glide__arrows c-carousel__buttons l-videoCarousel__buttons\" data-glide-el=\"controls\">\n\t<button class=\"glide__arrow glide__arrow--left c-carousel__button c-carousel__prev l-videoCarousel__button l-videoCarousel__prev c-longform-gallery__prev\" data-glide-dir=\"<\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"sr-only\">Previous Video<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/button><br \/>\n\t<button class=\"glide__arrow glide__arrow--right c-carousel__button c-carousel__next l-videoCarousel__button l-videoCarousel__next c-longform-gallery__next\" data-glide-dir=\">&#8220;><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"sr-only\">Next Video<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/button><br \/>\n\t\t<button class=\"c-carousel__goto\" data-glide-dir=\"=0\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><\/button>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t<!-- video stream item --><\/p>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fertility rates have been declining for a long time, however the drop has accelerated sharply over the past 20 years, and researchers are still trying to totally explain why. Now, latest research suggests a tool that has come to define modern life could also be playing a job: the iPhone. The smartphone, first released in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":350266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20691],"tags":[1667,12557,10821,279,9797,700],"class_list":["post-350265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-birth","tag-factor","tag-falling","tag-iphone","tag-rates","tag-researchers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350265"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":350268,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350265\/revisions\/350268"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}