iPhone’s debut crushed young women’s fertility, new study says

The first iPhone served as a technological marvel for some, but may have acted as birth control for a significant segment of the female population.

A working paper, published in the National Bureau of Economic Research, discussed a causal relationship between the release of the original iPhone in 2007 and a declining general fertility rate in the United States.

‘The algorithms … are incredible at getting you to keep scrolling.’

While women of all age groups shelled out $499 for the Apple smartphone, women under 25 years old seemed significantly hit by its introduction, according to researchers Caitlin K. Myers and Ezekiel Hooper.

The 22% drop in fertility rate in the U.S. since 2007 is not explained by the economy, contraceptives, housing, or child care costs, the researchers wrote.