iPhone rollout may account for a sizable share of early US fertility decline
TL;DR Summary
A National Bureau of Economic Research study finds the iPhone’s 2007–2011 spread could explain about 33% to 52% of the U.S. fertility decline, with the strongest effects among those under 24. The analysis shows births fell 4.5–8% among teens 15–19 and 3.2–6.6% among 20–24, but researchers caution smartphones are just one factor among costs, delayed marriage and broader demographic trends that shape family formation.
- Study finds iPhone may explain up to half of U.S. fertility decline Click2Houston
- Can smartphones help explain the drop in birth rates? NPR
- Smartphones arrived just before the US fertility rate plunged. One study says it’s a direct cause CNN
- Why Are Birthrates Down? Two New Studies Point to Phones. The New York Times
- Vermont Conversation: Are smartphones birth control? Economist Caitlin Myers on sex, abortion access and talking across divides VTDigger
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