According to Kate Julian, sex should be practiced to the peak. At such times, young adults explore their sexuality, possess the urge to have sex, and experience the pleasure that comes with it. Research conducted by well-known psychologists indicated that young people are engaging in less sex (Julian). It comes as a surprise since young adults from the Gen Xers were having a lot of sex compared to this generation who barely have sex. Below are some reasons Kate provides to explain why young people are having little sex.
First, easy access to internet pornography has contributed to reduced sex among young people. Research has it that most countries have experienced a decline in sex over the past years. Masturbation has become a norm among young adults viewing sex as tiresome. Through easy access to porn on the internet, the rate of masturbation among youths has increased. Young adults can satisfy themselves and still find it enjoyable, which in turn saves them time to go out and struggle to look for a partner. As such, some see masturbation as an easy alternative. The development of sex toys, which enables people to give themselves self-pleasure without a partner has played a major role in the decline of sex. A decrease in relationships among youths leads to less sex with most of them choosing to be single. A study by a psychologist stated that erectile dysfunction frequently comes with masturbating to internet porn reducing the urge to have sex (Julian). Some young adults are celibate by choice. They choose not to prioritize sex; instead, focus on achieving their academic or work objectives.
Secondly, many youths have adopted the hook-up lifestyle. A culture that only involves casual sex due without the need for relationships (Julian). Young adults with helicopter parents tend to focus on themselves more and avoid sex as advised by parents. Some only engage in just kissing and touching. Youths have adopted a hook-up culture instead of looking for long-term relationships. Students are poor in interaction and relations so they prefer hookups to relationships where they can get casual sex whenever they want. A decline in sex has come with a decline in romantic relationships where they do more sex. Helicopter parents have led to a decrease in teens going out for dates and partying which were major places to explore their sexual desires. Research done by psychologists shows that casual sex is lower in quality than romantic relationship sex hence lowering the lust for sex by youths (Julian).
Thirdly, young adults are more concerned about internet dating. Online dating site has been booming of late and many people have joined in the pursuit of a relationship partner (Julian). Stating the dating app is less stressful and one is sure of getting a dating partner and more mixed feelings while some suggest a face to face meetup is awkward. An increase in dating sites has led to a decline in sex as more people spend a lot of their time looking for matches. Most people pursue people way out of their leagues therefore not getting feedback from messages sent. On dating sites, it takes a lot of time for people to meet and hook up, it is only when you good looking is when the process will be fast. Unlike the old times when people used to get spouses from churches or arranged marriages, today such practices appear awkward and people prefer looking for partners on a dating app (Julian). Online dating has lots of choices making it difficult to choose from therefore lesser sex due to a lot of time consumption required to find a perfect match.
Finally, experiences of bad sex have contributed to reduced sex. Many people believe sex is very painful, which is why they try to avoid it. Such is the case today as young adults try to imitate what is done in internet porn; which may be very painful. In some cases when you hook up with a person for the first time and try choking them, or try anal sex with them it may not end well as some people are afraid of them. People avoid intimacy in the first meetings because they are scared of what they may encounter in the process and some even avoid kissing and make excuses for not experiencing any sexual relations with their partner. Bad sex plays a major role in young adults engaging in lesser intimacy. People want sex that they can enjoy and give them happiness and not pain so some decide to abstain to avoid bad sex. Bad sex can be blamed on inadequate sex education among youths (Julian). Recently many people don’t like getting naked or being seen naked. Young adults portray themselves to have a bad body shape for instance the obese lower their appetite for sex while others are uncomfortable with their nudity causing them to panic and arousal becomes difficult.
In conclusion, fewer young people are engaging in sexual intercourse now than before, but the reasons for the decline of sex in this generation are engaging in online dating sites, bad sex, hook-up lifestyles and easy access to internet pornography. Notably, the internet has played a significant role in the reduction in the amount of sex among young people.
References
Julian, K. (2018). Why are young people having so little sex? The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/12/the-sex-recession/573949/
