6 ms·

Couples are having less sex, study finds

15 points by LinuxBender 8y ago

pieterjands 8y ago
> Men burned more than women, at about 100 calories versus 69. I chuckled.
tombert 8y ago
I do have to smirk slightly, since a common complaint that I hear from people critical of millennials is that "everything is about sex these days!" as some sort of thinly-veiled way of dismissing people of a certain age group, when the facts seem to indicate that that simply isn't the case. Anyway, I do have to wonder why this is happening? Is it due to the fact that there's less lead exposure, or is it just easier to find other stuff to do nowadays (which I realize sounds facetious but I don't intend it to be). Anecdotally (which I realize means nothing in regards to science), I've noticed that I tend to have less of a libido when I am less physically active and/or I'm eating less healthily. I wonder if something like obesity rates have been directly correlated.
- riantogo 8y ago
  I would guess modern phones play a large role in this. Previously you would have TV or a book in the bedroom (and later laptops, but that was clunky). Now you share your bed with Instagram, WhatsApp, HN, Amazon etc.
- vokep 8y ago
  Both can be true. There is a thoery that overall less sex is being had, but the ones that do have sex are having it far more often than was common for an individual years ago. Take it with a grain of salt though, the theory is popular with incels.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
- coldtea 8y ago
  >I do have to smirk slightly, since a common complaint that I hear from people critical of millennials is that "everything is about sex these days!" as some sort of thinly-veiled way of dismissing people of a certain age group, when the facts seem to indicate that that simply isn't the case. Actually, it can very well be that "everything is about sex" for a group of people, precisely when that group of people have less sex than ever. (Overcompensation and all that).
  - Bartweiss 8y ago
    There are a bunch of studies over the last decade or so finding that teens (i.e. teens to ~28 year olds today) have shifted the balance of their social interactions away from in-person contact to online communication. If the same thing goes for sexual topics, that would quite neatly explain this pair of interactions. Debating sex on social media or posting adult content online is publicly visible, hence "people are sexualizing everything these days!", but it's plausibly also an replacement outlet for what isn't happening in person. (The other, simpler, take is that online accessibility just means we see an increasing amount of everything, even if the number of people involved is declining.)
- papermachete 8y ago
  >Anecdotally (which I realize means nothing in regards to science), That was unnecessary to say.
  - tombert 8y ago
    I agree, except I wanted to make it abundantly clear that I wasn't using it instead of real evidence. A big pet-peeve of mine has always been when people try to pass off personal experience as something that can be used to dismiss statistics.
    - papermachete 8y ago
      Sure it can be, if you can prove you're an exception.
      - tombert 8y ago
        Fair enough, but the testimony of some random eccentric on Hacker News is basically irrelevant, at least by itself.
thowthisaway 8y ago
It's because society keeps emasculating men.
- beaner 8y ago
  This sounds like a theory without evidence, but it would be interesting to actually study.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
nervousvarun 8y ago
Gotta ask. Any relationship here with the global declining sperm counts?
- burfog 8y ago
  That, the obesity, and the declining testosterone would all be related. The testosterone decline: https://uk.reuters.com/article/health-testosterone-levels-dc/mens-testosterone-levels-declined-in-last-20-years-idUKKIM16976320061031 https://uk.reuters.com/article/health-testosterone-levels-dc... We've already found BPA (a plasticizer) and Atrazine (an herbacide) to have feminizing effects. Other plasticizers show signs of being worse. This stuff is everywhere.
beaner 8y ago
Isn't the wide availability of internet pornography an obvious theory for one potential factor?

15 points by LinuxBender 8y ago

> Men burned more than women, at about 100 calories versus 69. I chuckled.

I do have to smirk slightly, since a common complaint that I hear from people critical of millennials is that "everything is about sex these days!" as some sort of thinly-veiled way of dismissing people of a certain age group, when the facts seem to indicate that that simply isn't the case. Anyway, I do have to wonder why this is happening? Is it due to the fact that there's less lead exposure, or is it just easier to find other stuff to do nowadays (which I realize sounds facetious but I don't intend it to be). Anecdotally (which I realize means nothing in regards to science), I've noticed that I tend to have less of a libido when I am less physically active and/or I'm eating less healthily. I wonder if something like obesity rates have been directly correlated.

riantogo 8y ago
I would guess modern phones play a large role in this. Previously you would have TV or a book in the bedroom (and later laptops, but that was clunky). Now you share your bed with Instagram, WhatsApp, HN, Amazon etc.
vokep 8y ago
Both can be true. There is a thoery that overall less sex is being had, but the ones that do have sex are having it far more often than was common for an individual years ago. Take it with a grain of salt though, the theory is popular with incels.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
coldtea 8y ago
>I do have to smirk slightly, since a common complaint that I hear from people critical of millennials is that "everything is about sex these days!" as some sort of thinly-veiled way of dismissing people of a certain age group, when the facts seem to indicate that that simply isn't the case. Actually, it can very well be that "everything is about sex" for a group of people, precisely when that group of people have less sex than ever. (Overcompensation and all that).
- Bartweiss 8y ago
  There are a bunch of studies over the last decade or so finding that teens (i.e. teens to ~28 year olds today) have shifted the balance of their social interactions away from in-person contact to online communication. If the same thing goes for sexual topics, that would quite neatly explain this pair of interactions. Debating sex on social media or posting adult content online is publicly visible, hence "people are sexualizing everything these days!", but it's plausibly also an replacement outlet for what isn't happening in person. (The other, simpler, take is that online accessibility just means we see an increasing amount of everything, even if the number of people involved is declining.)
papermachete 8y ago
>Anecdotally (which I realize means nothing in regards to science), That was unnecessary to say.
- tombert 8y ago
  I agree, except I wanted to make it abundantly clear that I wasn't using it instead of real evidence. A big pet-peeve of mine has always been when people try to pass off personal experience as something that can be used to dismiss statistics.
  - papermachete 8y ago
    Sure it can be, if you can prove you're an exception.
    - tombert 8y ago
      Fair enough, but the testimony of some random eccentric on Hacker News is basically irrelevant, at least by itself.

thowthisaway 8y ago

It's because society keeps emasculating men.

beaner 8y ago
This sounds like a theory without evidence, but it would be interesting to actually study.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

nervousvarun 8y ago

Gotta ask. Any relationship here with the global declining sperm counts?

burfog 8y ago
That, the obesity, and the declining testosterone would all be related. The testosterone decline: https://uk.reuters.com/article/health-testosterone-levels-dc/mens-testosterone-levels-declined-in-last-20-years-idUKKIM16976320061031 https://uk.reuters.com/article/health-testosterone-levels-dc... We've already found BPA (a plasticizer) and Atrazine (an herbacide) to have feminizing effects. Other plasticizers show signs of being worse. This stuff is everywhere.

beaner 8y ago

Isn't the wide availability of internet pornography an obvious theory for one potential factor?