Could iPhones actually lead to lower birthrates? As recently reported in the New York Times and elsewhere, one team of scholars thinks so.
After reviewing their analysis, the folks at Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) looked at their data on how customers use their iPhones. Those use patterns lend at least some support to their scholarly conclusion.
The paper, “Is the iPhone Birth Control?”, looks at the early years following Apple’s introduction of the iPhone. Recall in the US, Apple originally sold iPhones only through AT&T, and AT&T was dominant in some counties (or regions) and not in others. As Apple rolled iPhones out to other carriers, the researchers identified a sort of natural experiment, comparing birthrates before and after iPhones arrived in different places. The authors conclude, “Overall, the diffusion of the iPhone explains 33–52% of the decline in the general fertility rate among women aged 15–44.”
CIRP asked subjects how they use their iPhone, and specifically how often they use it for voice calls, texting, emailing, and Internet access. Trends in these uses support (or at least don’t refute) the idea that iPhones may prompt owners to become a little less social, according to the research group.
For iPhone buyers between 18 and 44 years old, among the four surveyed uses, texting and Internet use dominate, with over 95% of owners using an iPhone for those applications at least daily. This use has increased slightly since 2014, the first year CIRP data is available.
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