Young Americans are in a Sex Recession...Are Boomers?

If you have children or grandchildren nearing their teens or in their 20s, you may be happy or relieved to hear that young Americans are having less sex compared to years before. According to an article in The Atlantic, from 1991 to 2017 the percentage of high-school students who’ve had intercourse dropped from 54 to 40 percent. That's quite a drop in the span of a generation. The teen pregnancy rate has also plummeted and is currently at a third of its modern day high.

Why is this happening? If only the answer were simple. Perhaps it is due to a decline in couplehood among young adults, or the fact that young adults are living with their parents longer than ever before (maybe you have a twenty-something or thirty-something living in your house as you read this). That can certainly make having a sex life a bit trickier! Maybe it's the rise of the hookup culture, which may be a result from a lack of social skills thanks to screens replacing in-person time. Young adults may feel empowered to say "no thanks" more than ever before. The list of reasons and speculation goes on and you can read the full article for more details if you're interested.

While young adults having less sex may seem like great news, especially to concerned parents, some observers are beginning to wonder if it indicates a broader withdrawal from physical intimacy that extends well into adulthood. Young adults are on track to have fewer sexual partners than previous generations, but it seems that other generations may be experiencing an ebb in sexual activity too. Data from the General Social Survey finds that the average adult went from having sex 62 times a year to 54 times a year, meaning Gen Xers and Baby Boomers are having less sex than previous generations did at that age.

Maybe boomers are having less sex at their age than previous generations, but we're certainly not shy when it comes to sex. It can be argued that our generation shaped the history of sex forever. This article on Huffpost lists ways in which we did so. According to the writer, our generation made outdoor sex ok (Woodstock was about more than the music). We made indoor sex more interesting, as the free-sex atmosphere in the 1970s gave way to public exhibitionist sex (until AIDS changed everything). Boomers invented the American Swinger (ever put your keys in a bowl?), giving couples an agreed upon way to have sex with someone other than their spouse. And we changed the language of sex with less stiff terms replacing the word "intercourse." No pun intended.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




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