By Michaela Gordoni
Across the world, couples are having fewer kids, and screen time may be the reason for it.
Half of uncoupled Americans say they’re happy being single, and over half say they are neither in a relationship nor living with a partner, according to Vox.
Today, Explained reporter Miles Bryan and Today, Explained podcast host Noel King say screen time and digital entertainment is taking away from romantic personal interaction, listing streaming platforms like Netflix, social media platforms, and explicit sites like PornHub.
“Why venture out when everything is at your fingertips, from Netflix to Zoom meetings?” they write, referencing a 2023 study on American men that found 65% say “no one knows me well.”
People aged 18 to 23 had the highest numbers of singleness, with the highest rate of men uninterested in finding a partner (30%) and the lowest percentage of men in stable relationships (30%). Of men aged 24-45, over 40% were in relationships, and 20% were uninterested in finding a partner.
But rising disinterest in pursuing a relationship is occurring all over the world.
“Last year, I was in Mexico and lots of different Mexican little towns, and mothers would say the biggest problem here is that our teenage sons are spending all their time in their bedroom. And I’ll hear the same stories in little Indian villages, in Bangladeshi villages, all these people being hooked on hyper-engaging media,” Bryan and King said.
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With the exception of Uzbekistan and Georgia, Europe is experiencing a fertility crisis, and Japan and South Korea’s birth rates keep dropping.
Last year, The Lancet reported over 75% of all countries will not have a high enough fertility rate to be sustainable. That number is projected to be 97% by 2100. The 3% that are predicted to still be sustainable with birth rates of 2.1 children per couple are Samoa, Somalia, Tonga, Niger, Chad and Tajikistan.
“Most governments are putting the cart before the horse, by focusing on couples,” Bryan and King said.
“If I’m right, that the problem is technology, this hyper-engaging media, distracting us, and driving this digital solitude, which ultimately prevents people from forming couples, then we need to think: Well, we have various options,” they continued. “Could we regulate technology in some way? Could we introduce further restrictions? Or what can we do in schools to ensure that we’re fostering social skills?”
If screen time is standing in the way of sustainable birth rates, putting our phones down and replacing them with real, meaningful relationships may be the answer the world needs.
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