Tinder generation turns its back on sex.
Follow @Mazana17
The sexual revolution is over, an
academic study which found evidence that today’s young people are the
least promiscuous generation since the 1920s suggests.
Researchers who analysed findings from a long-running social survey from the US found that those now in their early 20s are almost three times as likely not to be sexually active as their parents’ generation.
The authors concluded that, contrary to the popular assumption, those who came of age in the era of online dating apps such as Tinder are less prone to casual encounters than their predecessors.
Researchers who analysed findings from a long-running social survey from the US found that those now in their early 20s are almost three times as likely not to be sexually active as their parents’ generation.
The authors concluded that, contrary to the popular assumption, those who came of age in the era of online dating apps such as Tinder are less prone to casual encounters than their predecessors.
The study, co-authored by Dr Ryne
Sherman, Assistant Professor of Social Psychology at Florida Atlantic
University, and Prof Brooke Wells, of Widener University, is published
in the US journal Archives of Sexual Behavior.
It uses data from the General Social Survey, a US study involving almost 27,000 respondents across several generations.
Among so-called “millennials” born in the early 1990s, who were aged between 20 and 24 when the data was last collected, 15 per cent had not had any sexual partners since turning 18.
By contrast, when members of so-called “Generation X”, born in the 1960s, were asked the same question at the same age the proportion was only six per cent.
Some experts have speculated that it could be the result of social media, with young people simply spending less time physically in each other’s company.
Official figures published earlier this year showed that teenage pregnancy rates in England and Wales have almost halved since the birth of social media as a global phenomenon.
The authors of the latest study suggested that the decline could be the result of a combination of the historically high number of young adults living with their parents as well as increased access to instant entertainment and even online pornography.
“This is really about this generation of young American adults and not the time period in which they are living,” said Dr Sherman.
“This has very little to do with changing norms about sexual behaviour; the generations are just different and it has everything to do with them.”
It uses data from the General Social Survey, a US study involving almost 27,000 respondents across several generations.
Among so-called “millennials” born in the early 1990s, who were aged between 20 and 24 when the data was last collected, 15 per cent had not had any sexual partners since turning 18.
By contrast, when members of so-called “Generation X”, born in the 1960s, were asked the same question at the same age the proportion was only six per cent.
The only other generation that showed a higher rate of sexual inactivity were those born in the 1920s.
“This study really contradicts the widespread notion that Millennials are the 'hookup' generation, which is popularised by dating apps like 'Tinder' and others, suggesting that they are just looking for quick relationships and frequent casual sex," said Dr Sherman.
“Our data show that this doesn't seem to be the case at all and that Millennials are not more promiscuous than their predecessors.”
The findings tallies with British studies suggesting that young people today are not only less likely than previous generations to have casual sex but also more likely to avoid other “risky” behaviours such as heavy drinking, drug-taking and crime.
“This study really contradicts the widespread notion that Millennials are the 'hookup' generation, which is popularised by dating apps like 'Tinder' and others, suggesting that they are just looking for quick relationships and frequent casual sex," said Dr Sherman.
“Our data show that this doesn't seem to be the case at all and that Millennials are not more promiscuous than their predecessors.”
The findings tallies with British studies suggesting that young people today are not only less likely than previous generations to have casual sex but also more likely to avoid other “risky” behaviours such as heavy drinking, drug-taking and crime.
Some experts have speculated that it could be the result of social media, with young people simply spending less time physically in each other’s company.
Official figures published earlier this year showed that teenage pregnancy rates in England and Wales have almost halved since the birth of social media as a global phenomenon.
The authors of the latest study suggested that the decline could be the result of a combination of the historically high number of young adults living with their parents as well as increased access to instant entertainment and even online pornography.
“This is really about this generation of young American adults and not the time period in which they are living,” said Dr Sherman.
“This has very little to do with changing norms about sexual behaviour; the generations are just different and it has everything to do with them.”
Follow @Mazana17
No comments :
Post a Comment