You can blame America’s plummeting fertility rate on the iPhone, study finds: ‘People are all depressed and alone and doomscrolling’
A new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests a correlation between the introduction of the iPhone and a significant decrease in birth rates in the United States. The study found that areas with earlier access to the iPhone experienced a notable reduction in births, particularly among younger age groups. Researchers controlled for various economic and geographic factors, concluding that increased smartphone adoption may be a substantial contributor to declining fertility rates, potentially due to its impact on social connection and sexual activity. AI
IMPACT Suggests a correlation between widespread smartphone adoption and declining societal fertility rates, potentially impacting future labor markets and social structures.