Key Takeaways
- American sexual frequency has significantly declined since 1990, reaching record lows in 2024.
- Young adults aged 18-29 are disproportionately affected, with
- no sex in the past year
- reports doubling since 2010.
- Reduced social interaction, lower marriage rates, and increased screen time are primary contributing factors.
- Technology, including online pornography and dating apps, is altering relationship dynamics and expectations.
- Religiosity correlates with higher sexual frequency and greater relationship stability among adults.
Deep Dive
- A study utilizing the General Social Survey indicates that adults aged 18-64 reporting sex once a week or more declined from 55% in 1990 to 37% in 2024.
- Among young adults aged 18-29, the percentage reporting no sex in the past year doubled from 12% in 2010 to 24% in 2024.
- The guest, Grant Bailey from the Institute for Family Studies, explains these declines represent a long-term trend, particularly impacting young adults and non-religious individuals.
- Guest Grant Bailey agrees with host Michael Smerconish that a lack of 'mingling' is a key factor in the sex recession, alongside declining marriage rates and increased cohabitation.
- Data from the American Time Use Survey shows young adults' time spent with friends decreased from over 12 hours weekly in 2010 to 5.1 hours in 2024.
- Smerconish emphasizes reduced socializing, increased phone usage, and easily accessible pornography as contributors, also noting the effort and cost for younger men to go out.
- This reduction in social interaction limits opportunities for young adults to meet partners, leading to a rise in
- sexless
- individuals.
- The discussion highlights that religiosity may motivate higher marriage rates and contribute to relationship stability, with older and religiously active adults showing less of a sex recession.
- Religious individuals who attend services are often more extroverted, socialize more, and are potentially in relationships, which correlates with higher sexual frequency.
- The sex recession primarily impacts the young and those without religiosity, partly due to the social support networks and programs that enhance marital quality found within religious communities.
- The conversation shifts to how dating apps and the expectation of quick connections, fostered by technology, have altered traditional dating dynamics.
- A loss of essential social skills, including navigating rejection and developing personality through in-person interaction, is observed due to decreased mingling.
- The guest suggests online videos may misrepresent the effort needed for relationships, contributing to a cycle of loneliness and lack of social engagement for young adults.
- A 34-year-old queer millennial caller discusses challenges in mingling and finding partners, attributing difficulties to dating apps and a shift away from traditional social venues.
- The caller suggests increased societal acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals may have contributed to the decline of dedicated gay spaces.
- Host Michael Smerconish shares his observation about New Hope, Pennsylvania, a former popular gay destination, noting its decline due to increased societal acceptance and the rise of online dating apps.
- The host theorizes a corresponding spike in self-pleasure may be occurring as partnered sexual frequency declines.
- Host Michael Smerconish theorizes that pornography may be warping the beginning of romantic relationships due to unrealistic expectations.
- The guest explains how pornography and unrealistic expectations, such as expensive first dates potentially costing up to $1,200, contribute to a decline in sexual frequency and relationship formation.
- A caller attributes declining sexual frequency to pervasive technology, including mobile devices and social media, alongside the pressures and costs associated with modern dating.