The 'Sex Recession:' How Tech is Contributing to Young People Doing It Less
*By Max Godnick*
If you're searching for hook-ups on social media or via dating apps, you're probably doing it wrong.
Young people are having less sex [according to the latest cover story in The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/12/the-sex-recession/573949/), and technology is contributing to the generational dry spell.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, only 41 percent of high-school students reported having had sex in 2015 compared to 51 percent in 1991. In 2014, the average American had sex 54 times a year, down from 62 times in the late 1990s.
From economic stress to a rise in anxiety rates, researchers have pegged the decline on a variety of potential factors. But like most everything at the core of millennial sociology ー social media and technology might be to blame for the so-called "sex recession."
"It seems like they would make things easier, and for some people they do, but they don't work they don't work that well for a lot of people," Kate Julian, senior editor at The Atlantic, said of dating apps Thursday in an interview on Cheddar.
"They can be demoralizing and inefficient."
She pins part of the problem on the gamification of online dating ー people report using apps like Tinder for upwards of an hour and a half a day, not to find a potential partner but instead, "for an ego boost or for a diversion," Julian said.
"They're not necessarily following through on it with real-life interactions."
And then, there's porn.
According to Julian, researchers aren't quite sure how the rise in pornography led to a drop in sex, but it's undoubtedly a factor.
"We can say that over the period of time that digital porn has existed, people have reported masturbating a lot more," she explained.
Online porn isn't only causing young people to have less sex ー it's also making sex worse.
"Porn may be changing the way people are having sex to some extent," Julian said. "There are a lot of things that are prevalent in porn that maybe your average person doesn't want to experience," she added citing practices popularized in porn like non-consensual choking.
"It really didn't want to make them come back for more."
But some people are still getting luckyー and possibly even in record numbers.
Julian acknowledged that the sweeping statistical analysis may not reflect the experiences of individuals whose sex lives have been helped by the destigmitazation and digitization of sex.
"Some people very well may be having more sex than ever and there's some data that suggests that, we're just talking about averages," she said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-atlantic-explains-why-young-people-are-having-less-sex).
Music group North Star Boys joins Cheddar News to discuss their debut single, shutting down Times Square, and representing the Asian community through music.
On this episode of ChedHER: Author of 'The Glass Ledge: How to Break Through Self-Sabotage, Embrace Your Power, and Create Your Success' discusses what exactly the 'glass ledge' is and how to overcome negative self-perception; Co-Owner of Wanderlust Creamery explains the story behind launching her very own ice cream business, and how she's overcome hurdles as a business owner; Chief Marketing Officer at Great Learning and Capacity Planning Analyst at Salesforce discuss how upskilling can help you advance in your career.
Adrienne Borlongan, Co-Owner of Wanderlust Creamery, joins ChedHER to discuss the story behind launching her very own ice cream business, and how she's overcome hurdles as a business owner.
Iman Oubou, Author of 'The Glass Ledge: How to Break Through Self-Sabotage, Embrace Your Power, and Create Your Success,' joins ChedHER to discuss what exactly the 'glass ledge' is and how to overcome negative self-perception.
Aparna Mahesh, Chief Marketing Officer at Great Learning, and Brandy Murray, Capacity Planning Analyst at Salesforce and Great Learning learner, join ChedHER to discuss how upskilling can help you advance in your career.
Umbilical cord blood banking platform Anja Health raised $4.5 million dollars in a seed round led by Seven Seven Six, a venture capital firm founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Anja Health offers a personalized, doctor-backed cord blood bank, which lets new parents freeze stem cells from their child's umbilical cord so they can be used to treat diseases in the future. It's a process Anja has called 'Hollywood's best-kept secret,' as celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Serena Williams, and more have all banked their umbilical cord blood. Kathryn Cross, the founder of Anja Health, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Actor Jimmy O. Yang is partnering with Chinese food chain Panda Express for his YouTube series "Jimmy's Kitchen." The comedian joined Cheddar News to talk about the partnership as well as upcoming ventures. "Panda Express could not be more perfect like even before this deal, I was just wearing a Panda Express hat for fun when I go outside," he said.
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay is displaying his world-renowned collection of historic memorabilia to the public for the first time in the Big Apple. Irsay joined Cheddar News to talk about why he's bringing artifacts from the Beatles to Jerry Garcia to light now. "I borrow all this stuff, you know, and I just feel kind of an obligation to share it with the public and make it come alive if you will," he said.
