Young People Have Less Sex Than Previous Generations

Published on January 07, 2026 | Translated from Spanish
Group of modern young people looking at their mobile phones in an urban setting, some with expressions of concern or anxiety, showing disconnection between them

Young People Have Less Sex Than Previous Generations

The new generations are experiencing a significant decline in their sexual activity compared to previous cohorts, according to multiple sociological studies. This phenomenon responds to a complex network of interconnected factors that define the current youth reality, where chronic stress and anxiety disorders have become normalized as everyday companions. 📉

Current Socioeconomic Context

Economic instability and job difficulties are completely reconfiguring the priorities and life projects of young people. The pressure to achieve academic and professional milestones, combined with financial precariousness, has displaced intimacy to a secondary plane in the face of daily urgencies.

Determining Factors:
  • Delay in economic independence and emancipation from the family home
  • Prioritization of financial stability over personal relationships
  • Evolution toward diverse relational models and greater acceptance of singlehood
Between the stress of finding a job, paying rent, and maintaining a presence on social media, intimacy struggles to find space in the contemporary youth agenda.

The Digital Transformation in Relationships

Digital platforms and social networks have revolutionized ways of connecting, offering virtual interaction that often substitutes direct physical contact. While dating apps facilitate encounters, they can also turn human relationships into superficial transactions where the consumption of digital content absorbs time previously devoted to in-person socialization.

Effects of Technology:
  • Progressive substitution of physical contact with virtual interactions
  • Conversion of relationships into transactional experiences through apps
  • Constant exposure to unrealistic standards of physical and sexual perfection

Consequences on Emotional Well-being

The constant pressure to meet social and professional expectations is generating historically high levels of anxiety among young people. The permanent exposure to unattainable performance ideals, both in the workplace and sexually, creates psychological barriers that inhibit the development of healthy intimate relationships. We may need to rethink how to balance contemporary demands with fundamental human needs. 🤔