4 ms·

Sure - I understand that case for general social loneliness, but I have a hard time believing that replaces any form of sexual contact, even solo. I can also se

Sure - I understand that case for general social loneliness, but I have a hard time believing that replaces any form of sexual contact, even solo. I can also see a reasonable case for social media leading to less lasting relationships, but an overall decrease in sexual contact of any kind because of it feels odd. We're not talking directly about people having less friends or social interaction. We're essentially talking about a mass of people essentially losing/ignoring their libido for years at a time. Looking at tweets, let alone scrolling Instagram doesn't feel like it should replace a physical desire for sexual pleasure to me. It may replace me deciding to call up a friend and go have dinner or such, but it feels like a stretch to say people are having a night where they would otherwise go out to find someone to have sex with, or just deal with it themselves at home, and instead they go read their Facebook page?

warner25 4y ago
I think the effects would be different for people in different stages of life and relationship statuses. As a married guy in my 30s, the effect that I see is compulsive checking and scrolling social media feeding anxiety and depression. By the time my wife and I get our kids settled into bed and have a chance for one-on-one time, Facebook etc. often gets in the way and kills the mood, or it already did so earlier in the day.
- noirbot 4y ago
  I could certainly see that on the margins, but not to the level of "we haven't had any sexual contact in a year". If the survey was "have you had sex in the last week" then I'd totally accept that social media was driving that number down, but a full year is a really long time. If you're ruining your day/libido that consistently by doomscrolling then that feels like less of a social media problem and more of a personal/relationship problem. I'm sure it's happening to some people, but not this many, right?
  - warner25 4y ago
    Agreed, it exacerbates underlying problems (e.g. the depression and anxiety disorders) that were already present. I note that the 2009 rate for adults who hadn't had sex in the past year was already at 24%, and now (2018) it's 28%. So yeah, social media and smartphones clearly aren't responsible for the whole 28%.

warner25 4y ago

I think the effects would be different for people in different stages of life and relationship statuses. As a married guy in my 30s, the effect that I see is compulsive checking and scrolling social media feeding anxiety and depression. By the time my wife and I get our kids settled into bed and have a chance for one-on-one time, Facebook etc. often gets in the way and kills the mood, or it already did so earlier in the day.

noirbot 4y ago
I could certainly see that on the margins, but not to the level of "we haven't had any sexual contact in a year". If the survey was "have you had sex in the last week" then I'd totally accept that social media was driving that number down, but a full year is a really long time. If you're ruining your day/libido that consistently by doomscrolling then that feels like less of a social media problem and more of a personal/relationship problem. I'm sure it's happening to some people, but not this many, right?
- warner25 4y ago
  Agreed, it exacerbates underlying problems (e.g. the depression and anxiety disorders) that were already present. I note that the 2009 rate for adults who hadn't had sex in the past year was already at 24%, and now (2018) it's 28%. So yeah, social media and smartphones clearly aren't responsible for the whole 28%.