A series instead of sex. How smartphones and the pandemic have affected our intimate lives.

A study conducted in November 2021 - a year and a half after the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic, which turned life on the planet upside down - shows that people love each other less and less. This is alarming because sexual life affects cognitive functions, health, sense of happiness and quality of life . And without sex there is no reproduction . Fertility levels on our continent are falling, sociologists are sounding the alarm, and the world - especially Europe - is aging.

The decline in sexual activity can be seen around the world , from Japan to the United States and Europe. The research clearly shows that between 2009 and 2018 sexual activity decreased significantly - both in terms of penetration, anal sex and shared masturbation. The report also shows that teenagers masturbate less often ¹ . As the authors of the study published in "Archives of Sexual Behavior" write, the decline is not "insignificant": between 2009 and 2018, the percentage of teenagers who do not engage in sexual activity increased from 29.8% to 44.2%. It's among young men. In women, this percentage is even higher - as much as 74% compared to 49.5% in 2008. These conclusions come from a study conducted in the National Survey of Sexual Health (in the USA) on a group of over 4,000 people between 14 and 49 years of age.

The co-author of the study, when asked about the reasons for such huge changes, said in an interview with "Scientific American" that young people replaced this time with, among others, video games and social media.

30 years ago - sex 5 times a month, 10 years ago - only 3.

For example, similar conclusions come from research conducted in Great Britain (the results can be found in the National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles - Natsal, archives that have been collecting information on people's sexual activity for over three decades). Thus, Natsal researchers found that in 1991 the respondents had sex 5 times a month, in 2001 - 4 times a month, in 2012 - 3 times (subsequent studies related to the pandemic were postponed because of it, the new report is planned for 2022-23) ² .

Soazig Clifton, head of Natsal, also emphasizes that the trend is global . The author of the American study, Dr. Debby Herbenick, says that the reasons are various - it is not only the huge increase in the popularity of social media, but also social status and declines in alcohol consumption .

In turn, in Germany, a decline in sexual activity was observed between 2005 and 2016, which scientists attribute to the fact that fewer respondents live with a partner. ³ . One researcher explains it this way: "It's very possible that people spend so much time on their phones and iPads that they simply prefer virtual relationships to those with people next to them. " ⁴ .

Dr. Jean M. Twenge, a psychologist from the University of San Diego, suggests that one of the reasons may be the later entry into adult life - people enter into relationships later, start living with a partner, and later decide to start a family. ⁵ . This applies to both men and women. Some researchers wondered whether wider access (and greater consumption) of pornography had an impact on the declines. However, Twenge believes that this is a false lead - those who watch porn have sex. Therefore, she, together with other researchers, supports the hypothesis that social media and the development of technology are to blame . In turn, sexologist Nancy Sutton Pierce said in an interview with Healthline that perhaps one of the reasons that could have contributed to this state of affairs is the #MeToo movement - it is because by giving women a voice and power, it reversed the "traditional" (read: patriarchal) relationships.

Pandemic and sex life.

Well, if you take financial stability and unemployment into account, you must remember that for millions of people around the world the last two years have been filled with fear about tomorrow and uncertainty . Many people have lost their jobs - this must translate into the quality of life, and therefore also into sex. In addition, people were simply afraid of getting infected with the coronavirus. Social distancing and isolation didn't help.

What else influences our sex life? Netflix!

A survey conducted by the website shows that as many as 60% of users watch series binge watching, i.e. episode by episode - addictively. This may contribute to behavioral addiction and cause this form of spending time to replace contact with a living person. And also affect sexual relationships ⁶ .

Why do scientists study sex?

Why is sex so important that researchers around the world study this issue? They explain that this is one of the elements that allows us to understand what is happening in society in the context of social contacts and health. The aspect of reproduction is also important - in many countries, including Poland, the fertility rate is decreasing, and tracking trends in people's sexual lives is one of the elements of this puzzle, which is supposed to influence social dynamics and the economy . That's why they try to understand.

To sum up, researchers emphasize that the trend towards a less frequent sex life is very strong and global, but there is simply no clear answer to the question "why". It's a combination of factors. The reasons for this may be different in different parts of the world.

Bibliography:

1. Willingham E., “People Have Been Having Less Sex—whether They're Teenagers or 40-Somethings,” Scientific American January 3, 2022
2. “Sexual attitudes and lifestyles in Britain: Highlights from Natsal-3”, natsal.ac.uk, accessed May 27, 2022.
3. Barrett A., “We're having less sex because we're too busy, not because of social media”, sciencefocus.com, January 26, 2022.
4. As above.
5. Curley B., “Why Young Adults, Especially Men, Are Having Sex Less Frequently”, healthline.com, June 17, 2020
6. Iwanek M., "Why do we have less sex and what do TV series, emotions and lockdown have to do with it?", uroky.eu, accessed May 27, 2022.