No More Sex in the City: Why Gen Z is Having Less Sex 

According to UCLA’s 2021 California Health Interview Survey, the number of young Californians aged 18 to 30 who reported having no sexual partners in the prior year reached a decade high of 38%. However, in 2011, only 22% of young people reported having no sexual partners during the prior year. 

Young Californian’s aren’t the only ones reported to be having less sex. In 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) performed a survey focusing on the sexual activity of American high school students. The CDC reported that 30% of teens in 2021 said that they were sexually active, which is a 8% decrease from a similar 2019 survey conducted by the CDC. Moreover, three decades ago, more than half of American teenagers reported having sex. 

In a world seemingly run by sex, why are some of the youngest in the generations participating less? What’s the reason for such a drastic drop in teenagers and young adults having less sexual relations in an era where sex seems to be ever present in our society? Here’s a few possible explanations: 

1. The Covid-19 Pandemic 

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, teen and young adult sexual activity was already on the decline. Initially, this has been seen by health officials as a good thing, similar to the reports of Gen Z smoking less cigarettes. However, AP News writes that the decline in young adult sex coincides with increased reports of social isolation and decreased mental health. Similarly, the Covid-19 pandemic has been connected to reports of social isolation and decreased mental health.

Research shows that adolescents depend on their friendships and romantic relationships to maintain a sense of self-worth and to manage symptoms of anxiety and depression. A New York Times article written by Emma Goldberg further describes the effects of the Covid-19 global shutdown and its lasting consequences on teens. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the National Alliance on Mental Illness has described the rise of mental health issues among young adults, which the organization partly attributes to social isolation. In fact, some psychologists speculate that this specific young adult cohort who went through the pandemic, may experience stunted social skills in the long run. 

Therefore, not only were there simply less opportunities for teens and young adults to pursue these romantic relationships leading to sexual activity during the pandemic, but socially Gen Z seems to have been dealt the short end of the stick. Despite the efforts to socialize by utilizing online resources, such as Zoom, nothing beats the face-to-face social interaction that in person high school and college give Gen Z. 

1. The Ever Changing Definition of Sex

As time goes on, the definition of sex seems to be changing in the eyes of Gen Z. One of the drawbacks of the CDC survey previously cited, is the wording of their question: “Have you ever had sexual intercourse?” Sexual intercourse is defined by Merian Webster as “sexual contact between individuals involving penetration, especially the insertion of a man’s erect penis into a woman’s vagina, typically culminating in orgasm and the ejaculation of semen.” 

The CDC phrasing of the question somewhat insinuates that sex is exclusively penetration, which isn’t necessarily true. Bumble’s 2023 Sex Index found that the definition of sex means vastly different things to different people with Gen Z identifying five different types of sex: intercourse, being naked with a partner, oral sex, outercourse (which includes grinding and mutual masturbation), and solo sexual play. These findings are supported by research conducted by La Trobe University, which found that 60% of young people consider oral sex to be sex, and another 41% believed genital rubbing to also be sex.

It is entirely possible that the wording of the CDC’s survey question led to somewhat skewed results because while most teens may not be having penetrative sex, there are other sexual activities. 

2. The Increase of LGBTQ+ Identification 

This factor ties into the evolving definition of sex. As the rise of non-heterosexual identification rises, the definition of sex coincides with this. According to the 2023 Gallup telephone surveys, which surveyed more than 12,000 Americans aged 18 and older, 7.6% of those surveyed identified with one or more of the LGBTQ groups. While this number may seem small, it is an exponential increase from the past decades. Overall, Gen Z is twice as likely as the previous generations to identify as LGBTQ+. 

While young adults may be having less penetrative sex, they are experiencing sexual intimacy in other ways with partners that identify as non-cis and non-hetereosexual. 

1. The Overturning of Roe V. Wade 

An article written by Carter Sherman published by The Guardian writes that more than one in 10 single people under 50 say they are having less sex due to the 2022 overturning of Roe V. Wade,a landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that protected the right to have an abortion. Since Roe was overturned, thereby giving the states the power to create their own abortion laws, more than twenty states have significantly restricted abortion access – leaving many single Gen Z and Millennials worried about the possibility of falling pregnant. A whopping 21% of Gen Z singles reported to The Guardian that they felt more worried about either falling pregnant or getting their partner pregnant than they did prior to the fall of Roe. Moreover, 11% of Gen Z reported having less casual sex and having less sex in general. Interestingly, 7% of those surveyed stated that they are more likely to have sex in ways that lower the risk of pregnancy, such as non-penetrative sex. Clearly, many young Americans feel uneasy about the government’s decision about Roe and are taking ample steps to protect themselves from the possibility of unwanted pregnancy. 

Conclusively, American Gen Zers are having less sex than previous generations. The statistics have proven so.  The question lies in the “why? - It seems that there isn’t a set answer. A combination of decreasing social skills, isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the increasingly creative ways Gen Zer’s are engaging in sex, and a rising restrictive political climate all play a massive part in young people’s decisions to abstain from sex. As we move away from the pandemic and into the potentially brighter future, only time will tell how these issues continue to influence the sex lives of Gen Zers.