As governments around the world struggle with ways to reverse plunging birth rates, new U.S. studies suggest they have ignored a key culprit – the smartphone.
“Is the iPhone Birth Control?” asked a paper published Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research, delving into why U.S. fertility rates have fallen by 22 percent since 2007.
For a while, experts linked the decline to the recession that struck in 2008 when the global financial system nearly imploded, driving millions of people into hardship. But when the economy picked up, a rebound in births never came.
Myriad other reasons have been posited, such as increased use of contraception, more female education, and growing housing or childcare costs. However, no clear cause has been established.
This 100%. Phones are not the problem. Technology is not the problem. Addictive engagement algorithms are the problem.
Also if you are worried about the lower birth rate, maybe you should take a look at the fact that it’s fucking unaffordable to live alone let alone support a child. Raise the minimum wage, bring all other wages up with it, then let’s talk about population.
Although personally I think fewer humans is not necessarily a bad thing right now