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MIAMI – Can the everyday use of smartphones be linked to a decline in birth rates?

According to researchers, fewer babies are being born and said people spending more time on smartphones affects their relationships including lack of sex.

Previous studies attributed lower birth rates across the globe including the U.S., United Kingdom and Australia to financial, with rising housing costs, childcare fees, healthcare access, and wider economic uncertainty all regularly cited as major barriers to starting a family.

But according to Tyla, a news source that focuses on women’s lifestyle, health and inspirational stories, a recent study took a closer look at the issue and pointed to the use of smartphones as the reason for declining birth rates since 2012.

The analysis said the steady decline began in 2007 the first year iPhone and smartphones debuted.

In the US, the fertility rate is currently said to be around 1.6 births per woman, while dozens of other countries have fallen even lower.

On the other hand, researchers are now examining whether another part of modern life could also be playing a role in the trend.

The study also claimed declines began in France and Poland in 2009, followed by Mexico, Morocco and Indonesia in 2012, and Iran, Egypt and Senegal in 2015.

It said each of those years coincided with smartphones first becoming popular in local markets.

The theory is not that one device alone has caused global fertility rates to drop, but that changes in how people socialize, date, and form relationships may be influencing when, or whether, they choose to have children.

Some researchers have suggested people are spending more time socializing online than in person, which could affect relationship formation among younger generations.