iPhone Introduction Linked to US Birth Rate Decline, New Studies Suggest

Two new studies suggest that the introduction of the iPhone in 2007 may have contributed to the declining birth rate in the United States. Since 2007, the birth rate has fallen by 22 percent. A working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, by economists Caitlin Myers and Ezekiel Hooper, found that in areas with early access to iPhones, birth rates fell 4.5 to 8.0 percent among 15- to 19-year-olds and 3.2 to 6.6 percent among 20- to 24-year-olds between 2007 and 2011. The researchers estimate iPhones could account for 33 to 52 percent of the decline in births among 15- to 44-year-olds during that period. They controlled for wealth and urban/rural status. The study has not been peer-reviewed. A separate study in Social Science Research Network suggests smartphones changed how teens interact, reducing teen fertility. Critics like economist Theodore Joyce note teen births have been declining since the 1990s and call the hypothesis speculative. The research does not claim iPhones are solely responsible but a significant factor.