Why? Diffusion of information and norms along infrastructure key for fertility preferences and behavior. As sub-Sahara African (SSA) countries have among the highest birth rates and worst infrastructure in the world, information and norms are dependent on physical proximity.
Digital infrastructure increased tremendously and paved the way for social media. Social media can easily reach remote areas and widen (digital) social contact opportunities. This could result in learning about new fertility information and norms. The relationship between social media and birth rates is adressed in this study.
To create subnational social media indicators, we used Facebookâs advertisement platform(detailed information can be found here). We created active users estimates for individuals aged 15-39 over 311 subnational regions in 29 SSA countries. Other data sources are: DHS, MICS, Worldbank, Globaldatalab and Afrobarometer.
This study showed the urgence to examine how social media influence fertility rates. Social media exposure keeps increasing and could have important consequences in terms of birth rates and population size development. Future research should address this.