US studies link smartphones to post-2007 drop in birth rates
What's new: Researchers found bigger declines in births among women ages 15 to 24 in counties with early iPhone access.
Two US studies have found evidence that smartphones may have contributed to the country’s long decline in birth rates after 2007. A National Bureau of Economic Research paper by Middlebury College economist Caitlin Myers and student Ezekiel Hooper linked early iPhone availability to lower births, especially among younger women. Comparing counties with broad AT&T coverage before 2011 to those with little access, the study estimated birth declines of 4.5% to 8% for ages 15 to 19 and 3.2% to 6.6% for ages 20 to 24. A separate University of Cincinnati study using data from 128 countries found birth-rate declines sped up as smartphones spread. Some academics remain skeptical, noting US teen births had been falling since the 1990s.