Why Young Americans are Having Less Sex

You don’t hear too many people write about the good old days, since the good old days coincided with the era in which women and minorities didn’t have equal rights.

But since we are all intelligent adults here, I feel like we can cheer for the progress we’ve made, while still lamenting some of the side-effects of that progress – namely, that technology is hurting people’s social lives in ways both big and small.

Let us count the ways:

People go out to bars and parties and stare at their phones instead of talking to strangers.

Social media has turned everyone into a “brand” to be carefully curated for public consumption.

Texting is both the primary form of communication and the laziest form of communication – one that creates anxiety and leaves out voice, tone and body language.

Tinder has taken the quaint shallowness of online dating to a new level. Profiles and emails mean nothing and you are no more valuable than your primary photo.

People feel more frustrated, disconnected, powerless and hopeless than ever before.

People feel more frustrated, disconnected, powerless and hopeless than ever before.

Believe me, like anybody, I found dating frustrating, but the despair I hear these days seems only to mirror the polarization of our electorate. People are angry and looking for answers. What they ignore is how they are partially complicit in their own problems – including the lack of sex they’re having.

The linked article breaks down a number of reasons that American adults (but notably millennials from 18-30) are having less sex.

1. Millennials are more cautious and fearful of sex, including risks of pregnancy and disease.
2. Millennials are more sensitive regarding sexual harrassment and assault, which will have a chilling effect on sexual behavior.
3. More millennials are living at home, which can kind of put a damper on your sex life.

It’s pretty hard to have intercourse if you’re at your parents’ house, watching Netflix and texting.

On top of this, says Jean Twenge, author of iGen, technology is taking the place of real life interaction and it’s pretty hard to have intercourse if you’re at your parents’ house, watching Netflix and texting. Factor in a decrease in dating and an increase in porn consumption, and, well, there are a number of reasons I feel like I’m going to be in business for a long, long time.

Click here to read this thoughtful piece on the rise of technology and the fall of sex.

Your thoughts, as always, are greatly appreciated.