Millennials Are Embracing “Anti-Sexual” Trends, Actually Just Can’t Get Laid

WJ Cope9 years ago

Studies are showing that members of the Millennial generation are having less sex than their parents did. The reasons why are a bit puzzling.

From The Washington Post:

Recent research also shows that overall, millennials — people born between the early 1980s and 2000 — have fewer sexual partners than the baby boomers and those in Generation X, the cohort that immediately preceded millennials.

“As people have gotten much more accepting of all sorts of forms of consensual sex, they’ve also gotten more picky about what constitutes consent ,” Coontz said. “We are far less accepting of pressured sex.”

But some experts are concerned that the drop-off reflects the difficulty some young people are having in forming deep romantic connections. They cite possible negative reasons for putting off sex, including pressure to succeed, social lives increasingly conducted on-screen, unrealistic expectations of physical perfection encouraged by dating apps and wariness over date rape.

Last time I checked, deep romantic relationships weren’t necessary to get your dangly bits touched. As a Millennial myself, I found this information somewhat shocking. We have an unprecedented level of access to the genitals of people all around us, and all it takes is a tap, a swipe, and a “Sup.” We’ve grown up with films like Can’t Hardly Wait and American Pie that teach that we have to get laid or we’re a bunch of losers. So where was the missing connection? I pored over interviews with Millennials to find it.

Sam Wei, a 26-year-old financial analyst in Chicago, has not had sex since her last relationship ended 18 months ago. She makes out with guys sometimes, and she likes to cuddle.

“To me, there’s more intimacy with having someone there next to you that you can rely on without having to have sex,” she said. “I don’t want to do anything that would harm the relationship and be something that we can’t come back from.”

Harm the relationship? All I’ve been able to harm by having sex is my own self esteem. There must be more to this.

Noah Patterson, 18, likes to sit in front of several screens simultaneously: a work project, a YouTube clip, a video game. To shut it all down for a date or even a one-night stand seems like a waste. “For an average date, you’re going to spend at least two hours, and in that two hours I won’t be doing something I enjoy,” he said.

He has never had sex. “I’d rather be watching YouTube videos and making money.” Sex, he said, is “not going to be something people ask you for on your résumé.”

Okay, so our pal Noah is too cool to go on dates. Although there is something to be said for spending two hours and $30 on someone you might not even like, this kid is only 18. Meat wallets should be more important to him than leather ones.

Alexandra Wolff, 19, had hoped to find romance in college.

“I don’t involve myself in the scene of frat parties and hookup culture . . . but it seems like every other option is so time-consuming and very hard to seek out,” said Wolff, who has never had sex. “It’s not like I’m saving myself for anything; it’s more like I’ve been busy.”

Oh boo-hoo, hookup culture strikes again. Look at me, I’m just a hopeless romantic stuck in this age of casual sex! Okay, so personally, I think we’re all having a weird time dealing with so many advances in hookup technology over the past few years, and it also just so happens that we’re the generation that was in college as all of this happened. I get it. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you can find like-minded people no matter how different and special you think you are. Are you a Neo-Nazi? A pirate? Do you identify as an Asian plum tree with a penchant for midget tossing? Get on the internet, and you’ll find people just like you.

What I can conclude from all of these testimonies is that these people are full of excuses and simply can’t close. Rather than get out into the game and face rejection, they’re content to sit on the sidelines under the pretense of being “busy” or somehow above it all. I say this not to scold my generation, but simply to acknowledge a problem that we have. I don’t have any be-all, end-all solutions, but we can start with a mantra to get us in the right mindset.

Let’s make America fuck again..

[via The Washington Post]

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