Significant Decline in Birth Rates in the US and Globally Linked to the Impact of the iPhone
A joint study reveals that birth rates in the United States have dropped by 22 percent since the invention of the iPhone in 2007. Typically, birth rates decline as a country’s economic conditions improve. However, despite diverse social and economic contexts across various countries over the past two decades, the global trend in birth rates has been a similar steady decline. According to research conducted by the US National Bureau of Economic Research, birth rates remained stable in the US from 1980 to 2007 but have experienced a continuous drop since then. By 2024, the birth rate decreased by 22 percent, reaching 54 births per 1,000 women.
Areas with access to the iPhone have witnessed a pronounced drop in birth rates. The study focused on regions in the US where the iPhone was made available via the AT&T network between 2007 and 2011. Results showed that in these regions, birth rates among women aged 15 to 19 declined between 4.5 and 8 percent, and among women aged 20 to 24, they fell by 3.2 to 6.6 percent. Overall, between 33 and 52 percent of the decline in birth rates among women aged 15 to 44 during 2007–2011 is estimated to be attributable to the influence of the iPhone.
Regarding reasons for this decline, researchers have noted that the increasing use of smartphones has profoundly changed social behaviors. People have significantly reduced direct personal interactions and sexual activities. The rise in consumption of online adult content and digital entertainment has negatively affected lifestyles. Additionally, smartphones have provided young people easier access to information about contraception and abortion. This effect is not limited to the US alone but is evident globally. Economists from the University of Cincinnati conducted research across 128 countries and found similar results. Despite variations in healthcare systems, religions, laws, and economic conditions, widespread smartphone use is consistently linked to sharp declines in birth rates.
Rising screen time has led to decreased social interaction. In 2003, people engaged in an average of 68 minutes per day of face-to-face meetings and conversations, which dropped by 44 percent to just 38 minutes daily by 2019. Meanwhile, time spent on computers and digital devices increased from 22 minutes per day to 96 minutes—a 336 percent rise. Researchers commented that although the iPhone or smartphones alone are not solely responsible for declining birth rates, they are significant contributing factors behind this downward trend. Birth rates continue to fall in many developed and developing countries. The US has reached historically low fertility levels. In Canada, the fertility rate reached 1.25 per woman in 2024, comparable to countries like Japan, Singapore, and Spain. China abolished its one-child policy in 2016. Despite substantial investments to boost birth rates in Japan and South Korea, notable success has not been achieved, while middle-income countries such as India and Brazil are also experiencing rapid declines in birth rates.
