Millennials born in the 1990s are less sexually active than the preceding GenXers were as young adults, according to a new study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.
According to the new study, among individuals ages 20 to 24 born in the 1990s, 15 percent reported having no sexual partners since age 18. That's more than double the amount of their GenX counterparts, 6 percent of whom reported sexual inactivity after 18. This data contradicts popular media conceptions of a "hookup generation."
However, the findings did not surprise Helen Fisher, PhD, a biological anthropologist at Rutgers University and chief scientific adviser to the dating site Match.com.
Dr. Fisher told The Washington Post, "It's a highly motivated, ambitious generation...A lot of them are afraid that they'll get into something they can't get out of and they won't be able to get back to their desk and keep studying."
The influence of technology is also a potential influencer for the lack of sexual activity in the age group. A large swath of social activity now occurs through computer screens, perhaps assuaging people's desire for in-person meetups. Also, technology has changed the way the dating game is played as potential mates can now be swiped or clicked through at rates as fast as fingers will allow.
"It ends up putting a lot of importance on physical appearance, and that, I think, is leaving out a large section of the population," lead study author Jean Twenge, PhD, a psychology professor at San Diego State University, told the Post. "For a lot of folks who are of average appearance, marriage and stable relationships was where they were having sex." Dr. Twenge added that meeting up with someone face-to-face allowed one's personality to play a role in relationship building. She said dating apps are "leaving some people with fewer choices and they might be more reluctant to search for partners at all."
Noah Patterson, 18, a web designer from Bellingham, Wash., told the Post he's never had sex. He said he enjoys the companionship of women but doesn't believe it to be a significant part of life. "I'd rather be watching YouTube videos and making money." Sex, he added, is "not going to be something people ask you for on your resume."