When one hears that smartphones account for 33% to 52% of the decline in the U.S. fertility rate, that should give us all pause. How could something so small have such a big impact on our fertility crisis?

According to a recent study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, the smartphone is a major contributing factor in the decline in fertility, which has decreased 22% since 2007.

Why?

For Millennials and Gen Zers, the smartphone has become a substitute for social interaction and a portal into the world of pornography. Smartphones allow consumers to retreat into their own little worlds. Gen Zers in particular are afraid to talk to people on the phone or interact with people outside a setting in which they feel in control and humiliation is minimized. They typically don’t meet with people in person, and if they do, they are often glued to their screens.

How are people supposed to meet their significant other if they have forgotten or never even learned how to be social?

Granted, there are other reasons that young men and women aren’t dating and forming marital relationships. As The Daily Wire’s Rich Cromwell notes, “Modern men hate modern women. Modern women hate modern men. Sinking further into this hatred via smartphones, apps, and AI is only going to exacerbate the problems between the sexes and the global decline in total fertility rate.”

Cromwell observes that artificial intelligence will likely exacerbate the problems that smartphones started. For example, many individuals are using AI chatbots as “romantic partners.” Moreover, 15% of couples cheat on their significant other with these chatbots.

This is a major problem. AI isn’t real, thus it will never fulfill that inner longing for a deep, meaningful relationship with another human. We also cannot procreate with a robot. AI romanticism means that too many people are giving up on the human-relational richness that this world has to offer.

“Struggle leads to success,” adds Cromwell. “Friction is part of that struggle. Successful relationships that help to build the future don’t arise out of artificial harmony, but out of the messiness of human life, out of the arguments over dishes or where to eat or what to watch. Greatness comes from being challenged and learning from those challenges, from overcoming obstacles, from accepting at times that we’re wrong.”

Contributing to the anti-social aspect of smartphones is the prolific and utterly debauched access to pornography. With just the click of a button, anybody can watch porn practically anywhere at any time. People have been caught watching it at work, at school, at home, you name it. Pornography is a destroyer of minds and of relationships. And just like AI, porn is not real. Rather, it sells viewers a fantasy that is brought to the Internet via the exploitation of girls and women.

Ultimately, this turning to the unreality of smartphones and AI signals a much greater problem. Our society is no longer thinking about future generations. Instead, it is more concerned with the individual — our singular wants and needs — than in making the world a livable place for the next generation. This anti-Christian philosophy is nihilism at its core. In other words, If life doesn’t have any real meaning, then why should we try to make life better for the next generation?

Our world was made for growth and regrowth. We will never eradicate hardship — and, frankly, eliminating opportunities for struggle takes away chances for greatness. However, this dilemma with smartphones is an opportunity for society. The struggle now is to convince both men and women to put down their phones, forsake the artificiality of the online world, and create a life that is about more than just themselves.

While there are clearly other factors contributing to the declining birthrate — an unruly economy, the housing crisis, childcare costs, etc. — the fact that smartphones are such a pivotal piece is utterly astonishing.

The siren call of AI and smartphone-curated apps is an escape. But the world is still worth populating, developing, and loving. Ultimately, we need to live for something more than our own immediate pleasure and satiation. Perhaps thinking beyond our own selfish needs will help address some of our other cultural problems, such as fatherlessness and envy.

So, let’s put down the smartphone and start living for something greater than ourselves.