Falling birth rates and smartphones: a technology as malevolent as AI?

Om Gupta, writing for India Today: The researchers believe smartphones fundamentally changed how young people interact with each other. More time shifted online, while face-to-face socialising declined. According to the study, this reduction in in-person interaction may have contributed to lower fertility rates. The pattern appears to extend beyond just the US and UK. Financial Times analysis found that birth rates in several countries began falling sharply around the same time smartphones became widely adopted. Gupta cites research published a few days ago by the Financial Times (paywalled). I doubt the blame for the reported decline in birth rates globally can be placed wholly at the feet of smartphones, but it’s not unreasonable to believe they are playing some role. It’s hardly empirical proof, but increasingly I need to sidestep people walking along the footpath who are focused only on their smartphone, almost oblivious to the presence of anyone else. If people can’t go without…