Birth Rates Are Down, And New Studies Blame What’s In Your Pocket—Your Smartphone

You love it more than your soulmate. It spends most of the day in your pocket, begging to be used. You touch it dozens—sometimes even hundreds—of times each day. You can’t stop thinking about it even while your significant other is vying for your attention and telling you about your day. You keep choosing it over real, physical intimacy. It fogs up your mind, makes you dependent on it, gobbles up your spare time, ruins your sleep, hijacks your impulses, and consistently makes you feel worse.

Yes, we’re talking about your smartphone! If this were a fantasy book or video game, we’d call it a cursed artifact that we wouldn’t advise touching with a 10-foot pole. Now, new research shows this insidious technology’s impact runs deeper and wider than previously anticipated. The arrival of smartphones in our lives has led to eroding relationships and worse sex lives… and the repercussions are felt in bedrooms and hospital nurseries everywhere around the world.  

If you’d rather scroll your social media feed or browse digital erotica than go on dates and make out with your partner, then something has gone incredibly wrong. Not just on an individual level, but on a societal one, too. And it has led to a fertility and demographic crisis, whether you planned on having kids or not. In short, fewer babies are being born, and the trend is beyond concerning. 

Let’s get into exactly what’s been happening, what smartphones can be blamed for beyond ruining your relationships, what else might be causing birth rates to crash, how to get your screen time under control, and what you can do to reinvigorate and reclaim your life. All, hopefully, without breaking every tech device with a hammer and giving up screens for good. You do not need to become a hermit in the woods.