Original article by Ally Burnie, January 23, 2020
Believe it or not, Australia’s youth are currently in the throes of a sex recession.
In fact, data shows that teens are getting 50 per cent less sex than their parents. Forty per cent of Aussies aged 18 to 24 revealing they’ve never done the deed.
Humans are more connected than ever thanks to proliferation of technology and social media. However, it’s actually what’s contributing to the current sex recession.
Sexologist Jacqueline Hellyer told The Tele that dating apps, social media and porn are being used as a substitute for real human contact. Gen Z are losing the ability to interact face-to-face.
She said young adults are missing out on “tone, body language and human contact”. These are all the things you get when meeting potential dates in real life.
Hellyer also said dating apps provide young adults with endless options, and they are overwhelmed by choice paralysis, which ultimately leaves them dissatisfied with potential partners.
Condom sales down
The sex recession has become so critical that it’s impacting the condom business.
Just yesterday, B&T reported on Four Seasons Condoms’ latest campaign by creative agency CHE Proximity.
At the heart of the campaign lies a Generation Intervention Pack – an educational kit. It equips parents to be surrogate-sex therapists. It can also facilitate an intervention with their adult children.
Michael Porter, sales & marketing director at Four Seasons Condoms said: “Young people are facing more barriers to sex than ever before. Increased social media is depriving them of real human connection and usage can contribute to feelings of loneliness, anxiety and depression.
“With almost a quarter of young people in Australia facing mental health challenges we wanted to make sure that we created a moment this year where parents could sense check how their children are doing.”
While almost half of young adults have never had sex, another 15 per cent have it once a month. Almost 30 per cent of 40-49 year olds are doing the deed at least once a month.
Furthermore, two thirds of people in their 30s have sex monthly, according to a recent Australia Talks survey of 55,000 Aussies.
Porn has also contributed to the sex recession amongst young adults. Both women and men compare themselves to what they see online.
Also see The share of Americans not having sex has reached a record high
Half of the ~7,000 18- to 39-year-old women surveyed by Monash University (Australia) say sex made them distressed or unhappy. Also see underlying paper: The prevalence of sexual dysfunctions and sexually related distress in young women: a cross-sectional survey.
