Debby Herbenick, a professor at Indiana University, in the School of Public Health discusses the idea that ‘rough sex’ is contributing to the decline of sex. Henderson considers the miscommunication factors of sex at university and how a simple kink like rough sex can actually sexually victimise many young women, specifically young bisexual women.
Research also suggests that young adults and teenagers have been having less sex than in recent years. This could be a consequence of the lockdown separation and young people spending more time alone, though this doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing.
The decline of sex today could be a result of young people understanding exactly what they want because of social media and podcasts; where information is distributed openly and informally. This thus opens doors to discussions as to whether sex is genuinely what people desire.
Young people are understanding their personal desires better than in the past
The recent rise of people coming out as asexual is a great example of young people having an understanding of the things they actually want. This shows that people no longer feel the need to pretend to enjoy something just because it’s socially normative.
There are a multitude of activities for young people to partake in aside from sex. For example, some have been open to the idea of meditation as a form of whole-hearted healing rather than a short term fix of enjoyment.
Overall, sex is a way of releasing energy and tension and a way of focusing on nothing more than a moment of ecstasy, and therefore is effective as short term relief from stress. Yet, as the research states, students are now exploring extracurriculars beyond sexual interactions. For many overworked students, sex is no longer a viable solution against tiredness and burn out.