Recently, people started talking about the sexual recession and how it is affecting the Gen Z and MIllennial dating. But is this a real problem or something that people made up? And if it is true, is there any way to fight this and overcome it together? There’s no time for relationship advice — let’s get straight to the sex question.
Who Are Millennials and Gen Zs?
Before we go into details about the sex recession, we should talk about Millennials and Gen Z. Who are these people? Let’s start from the beginning. For a while, people have been talking about different generations based on the year of birth. The first category is the Baby Boomers, born at the end of World War II. All kids born between 1946 and 1964 are Boomers, so to speak.
The next ones on the list are Gen Xers or Gen X. This covers everyone born between 1965 and 1980. The next group is Gen Y or Millennials. Millennials are all people born between 1981 and 1996. There are two subcategories of Gen Y — Gen Y.1 (between 25 and 29) and Gen Y.2 (between 29 and 39).
Finally, Generation Z or Gen Z is reserved for younger people, and it includes everyone born after 1997. In recent years, people started referring to both groups of Gen Y as Millennials, but the term itself was coined in 1989.
The Rise of Online Dating Apps and Easier Access to Porn
Our focus here will primarily be on Gen Y and Gen Z, that is, people under forty years. The reason why they might be experiencing a sex recession is simple. Everything is just a click away. The reason why people under forty are in the affected group is that they are more likely to use technology — especially younger people.
Today, there are numerous online dating apps that make everything simpler. Or so it seems. For part of people, the thing standing between them and sex is just a few swipes on their smartphones, and they make it look so easy. Even if you’ve never used online dating apps, you are probably aware of how easy it is to find someone looking for a hookup.
Young people don’t need to go on countless dates or spend hours with someone to know them. We have social media that make communication easier than ever. You can chat with someone across the world, and the message will arrive almost instantaneously.
The next problem is pornography. There aren’t many things left to the imagination, and it has never been easier to find porn online. The internet is full of it, and you don’t need to look hard to find what you like. Some will say that pornography will ruin intimacy and that people have unrealistic expectations. Whether this is true or not, there is no denying that porn is impacting everyone’s lives. See these pornography effects.
The Sex Recession
All of that leads us to the problem of sex recession for people under forty. Sex recession is a term used to describe a decline in sexual encounters, and numerous studies show how younger people are having less sex.
Naturally, the first thing we need to blame is technology. Things were a lot different fifty years ago, and many take it to mean that we don’t need education, technology, or the internet. But that is not true. Previous generations were facing fewer options. There was no internet, and they couldn’t talk to other people or meet someone in a different town or even country unless they traveled.
Today, you can talk to anyone in the world, and it gives you more freedom and opportunities. But at the same time, people today are more aware of what’s happening in the world and around them. They are no longer interested in getting married, having kids, and dying on a farm. They want more from life, and relationships seemed to have suffered first.
It is challenging to commit to a person when you know that it might not work out. Furthermore, relationships require a lot of work, and for some, it is not worth the pleasure that comes with it.
Instead, they are turning their backs on the relationships and focusing on having pleasure instead — thus the hookup culture. The main problem with hookups is that the frequency of sex won’t really improve. People are into casual dating, but hookups don’t happen every day, and having sex is not as regular an occurrence as it would be if they were in a relationship.
Finally, casual sex is fun in theory, but in reality, it is not always as fun as you’d imagine. Eventually, people started saying no to it.
How the Pandemic Makes It Even More Difficult
If you thought that the global pandemic is the reason why people are having less sex and why there are fewer relationships, you are wrong. The whole sex recession started way before the Covid, and today’s situation just made everything worse.
People who aren’t in relationships will have a challenging time getting into one because most countries have strict policies for fighting the pandemic. It is nearly impossible to meet someone new, and those without sexual partners are not in an enviable position.
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It is rather interesting. So many things are considered normal today instead of being taboo. Premarital sex is common, and so is sex without relationships, the number of HIV cases is at the lowest, and people still have less sex compared to previous generations.
Is there anything people can do to change the situation? How can this generation overcome this problem? Well, the question is whether sex recession is a problem at all. Many people believe that more sex is better, but what if today’s generations are focusing on quality instead of quantity? There is a chance that they no longer find excitement in pointless relationships and emotionless boning. Since having sex is no longer forbidden, taboo, or even special, they are seeking things that actually mean something.
There is no way for an entire generation to change their behavior, but it might be a good thing. As long as people are doing what makes them feel good, that’s the only important thing. No one should be bothered by statistics about the number of marriages or sexual frequency. Instead, they should focus on themselves, and if they want to find a worthy partner willing to share some sex tips and tricks for a single night, then it is the right thing to do.