Health · Medical Research · 4 hrs ago
Researchers examine whether smartphones affect sex and birth rates
Researchers are examining whether smartphones contribute to falling birth rates by reducing time for relationships and sex.
A US study found births fell by 22% around the time the iPhone appeared, but that timing alone does not show that phones caused the decline.
In one survey, 40% of couples said a phone had delayed or cancelled sex, while 20% said they had stopped sex to check a phone.
An addiction and psychiatry professor says phones provide frequent small bursts of reward, which may compete with intimacy.
The story also describes how social media can make travel, careers and other goals feel like priorities, pushing the idea of having children further into the future.
The evidence presented raises a possible link between smartphone habits and intimacy or childbearing, but gives no specific next steps.
Researchers are examining whether smartphones may contribute to falling birth rates by affecting relationships, sex and decisions about having children.
A US study cited in the report found that birth rates fell by 22% when the iPhone appeared.
The report says 40% of couples surveyed had delayed or cancelled sex because one partner was absorbed in a smartphone.
It also says 20% of people surveyed had interrupted sex to look at their phones.
Experts suggest that frequent phone use and social media may compete with intimacy and make having children a lower priority.
- Who
- Researchers, including economists Caitlin Myers and Ezekiel Hooper, are examining the issue.
- What
- They are exploring whether smartphone use may affect sexual relationships and birth rates.
- When
- The report was published on 13 October 2026. It says smartphones arrived in the 2010s.
- Where
- The report discusses findings in the United States and a claimed global trend.
- Why
- Researchers are investigating whether screen time reduces time for relationships and intimacy, and affects the desire to have children.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The report says the arrival of smartphones coincided with a decline in birth rates worldwide.
A US study cited in the report found that birth rates in the United States fell by 22%.
An Ifop survey examined 18- to 24-year-olds.
A SellCell study was conducted.
- US birth-rate change
- Fell by 22% when the iPhone appeared, according to a study cited in the report
- Couples delaying or cancelling sex
- 40% of those surveyed
- People interrupting sex to check phones
- 20% of those surveyed
- Last thing touched before sleep
- Phone, for 80% of users
- Ifop survey
- 18- to 24-year-olds, 2023
What people are saying
The competition ultimately tips in favour of the smartphone and its content rather than intimate and sexual relationships.
There is a set of criteria that become priorities, and the child is put off.
The phone can really interfere with sex because it tires the eyes, the brain…
Sources
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