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Why the world stopped having sex
- mancerayder 3y agoThis article is about France. France has a very large Muslim population, larger than decades ago due to growth of families and immigration. Surely a more conservative cultural norm has played a role. People like to reduce to a single factor: it's porn. It's careers. It's the high cost of living. It's micro plastics. It's low T. It's diet. It's this or that. There are probably many things. Note however that we all are bringing our biases into the picture when we select for One master cause.
- necovek 3y ago> Maybe people are more able to tell us that they’re not having sex. It was the first thought that occurred to me: maybe we aren't having less sex, but we are simply more honest about it. But the article makes even the above statement in support of the title: maybe journalism needs more honesty too?
- jerpint 3y agoIt seems unikely to me that today’s generation would be less willing to share details about their sex lives compared to 20 years ago
- protomolecule 3y agoWhat about the details about lack of sex life? Perhaps the gp meant that today there is less stigma associated with not having sex so people don't exaggerate how much sex they have and more willing to share that they don't have it at all.
- sokoloff 3y agoThe invention of the screen probably did more than anything else to curb sex. 100 years ago, what was a couple likely doing for entertainment at 10 PM on a Saturday? What about now?
- jll29 3y agoMobile phones! I'm always shocked how couples on dates in restaurants don't talk but each attends to their own screen. Governments will need to switch off the signal on Saturday nights to ensure survival of the population (looking at World Bank fertility statistics increases the concern raised in the article). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN
- sgt 3y agoI hear about this but generally I experience that people put away their phones when engaging in conversation. My wife included, especially during dinner. Perhaps this behavior is more common for those aged 35+ ?
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- tjoff 3y agoSure, but you stifle a lot of avenues to start a conversation when you look at your phone. And you raise the bar for conversations to be worthwhile. Which becomes a problem when a lot of high-quality conversations start from mindless small talk.
- Hugsun 3y agoIt's not a given. Many people pick up the phone at the slightest pause or hope to not have to put down the phone for the conversation. It's known as phubbing and is detrimental to a good conversation.
- xyzzy123 3y agoThe world was not an entertainment-less void before TV & computers. There were social gatherings, reading, writing, radio, games, thinking, hobbies and crafts, etc. Most people probably went to bed earlier though.
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- throw310822 3y ago> The proportion of those aged 18 to 24 who had never had sex was 28 per cent, up from 5 per cent in 2006. What? If this is correct (I doubt it) this alone sounds extremely worrying, also because it indicates that it's mostly a problem with the new generation. It's a 5-fold increase from 18 years ago.
- snshn 3y agoIt's only logical. Attractive people use apps and social skills to sleep with multiple other attractive people, while unattractive people masturbate and refuse to sleep with other unattractive people.
- benterix 3y agoWhile I agree, the dynamics here is slightly unbalanced between the genders.
- nervousvarun 3y agoAs a GenX American parent, it’s wild to me that kids don’t want to drive when they turn 16. I honestly struggle to comprehend how that is the case (though not going to judge kids…had enough of that when I was a teen). There is a word we throw around casually that has always been a part of teenage life. It does however seem to be increasing exponentially and it’s behind a lot of these trends. “anxiety” https://medium.com/swlh/american-teens-are-driving-less-and-the-reasons-are-more-than-economic-4cf6217375a1 https://medium.com/swlh/american-teens-are-driving-less-and-...
- switch007 3y agoFTA > Financial, legal, and technological changes are all part of the equation And anxiety seems like a perfectly rational response to driving a 1500kg oversized killing machine. If I had to choose between anxious drivers and the overconfident who speed and run red lights, I would take the former
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- Zealotux 3y agohttps://archive.is/T798z https://archive.is/T798z
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- _heimdall 3y agoIts interesting that dietary and pharmaceutical changes aren't considered at all. At least in the US, a majority of adults are on at least one prescription drug and a large number have two or more. Our diets have also changed to include a much larger proportion of vegetable oils, processed foods, and soy to name a few.
- Hugsun 3y ago> At least in the US, a majority of adults are on at least one prescription drug and a large number have two or more. This is wild to me. I find it hard to believe that this is not a bad thing.
- iteria 3y agoIt's good in that people have better quality of life. Almost every adult over 50 I know is on a medication and all of it is to reducing suffering. Blood pressure control, pain management, treatment of chronic diseases that used to be crippling I just started a medication for a disease that was just an unlucky roll of the genetic die. Before, my options would have been to just slow decline until I died for a decade. Now. I'll take this for the next 40 or more years of my life. I imagine that was a lot of people before we started having a lot of medicines. Diabetes used to be a death sentence a century ago after all.
- Hugsun 3y agoA better quality of life is certainly what we want. I'm glad you found a good solution to your condition. What is still wild to me is that so many people in that age range would suffer without drugs. I would expect more conditions to crop up as people mature but not this soon at this rate.
- _heimdall 3y agoThere is a real risk in assuming that prescriptions, rather than access to medications, means a person has a higher quality of life. That is absolutely true for some, but for some of the most common medications the underlying conditions themselves may be avoidable. Being able to get prescription drugs for short term ailments is extremely beneficial, but short of a truly permanent condition I have to assume quality of life would be better if the drug wasn't deemed medically necessary (meaning it actually wasn't needed, not trying to parse medical diagnoses).
- begueradj 3y agoIn the case of France, for anyone who understands French, in this debate[1], it is said that when men watch pornography, their brain gets used to a certain category of female bodies to whom their wife/girlfriend does not resemble, hence they lose attraction towards their partner, but also in the women around them and the ones they see in their daily life, in a nightclub ...etc. It is also said that porn is more and more violent, so lots of men are not excited in the normal and romantic way of making love (most likely your wife/girlfriend won't let you treat her the way your brain is trained to through porn) There is also one interesting opinion in that debate (from an author which was not present, but was quoted): when French boys get a bunch of sexual experiences in their adolescence, it is normal they loose that sense of romance and attraction once adult. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqrRSF8rrlU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqrRSF8rrlU
- mise_en_place 3y agoI could see this contributing to it, but as the article mentions, a lot of women are also no longer interested in sex. For example, a younger female friend of mine just doesn’t have a very high libido. Sex is a chore for her, she told me she often just lays there and disassociates while it happens. The environment is the most likely reason. There are microplastics and endocrine disruptors. My own libido returned to normal once my testosterone level returned to the normal reference range.
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- mseepgood 3y agoI've heard from women that it's low quality in men that wants them to not have sex.
- tomp 3y agoListen to Aella’s podcast with Steve Hsu. Her research indicates that it’s actually women who are more interested in violent sex, and men consistently underestimate the chances. It’s something like 60% vs 40% IIRC.
- t-3 3y agoI've seen a lot of these articles, and they mention that both singles and people in relationships are having less sex, but I have to wonder if fewer romantic relationships are being formed as well? The desire for intimacy doesn't seem any less, but is it being fulfilled in other ways, like AI spouses or romantic literature and movies?
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- re-thc 3y ago> but I have to wonder if fewer romantic relationships are being formed as well Fewer couples are being formed. In the past marriage was often tied to family reasons e.g. to gain influence, wealth, power or something else. It was decided by parents or family. You're forced to start a family.
- nottorp 3y agoTo put it bluntly: Kids are expensive, marriages are mostly for kids, so if you can't afford them why bother?
- nprateem 3y agoMost likely women now have increased wealth so don't need to marry for economic reasons, and societal norms now make being single more acceptable.
- HL33tibCe7 3y agoThe massive rise of antidepressants, which suppress libido, might have some affect. Maybe also the constant drip feed of hormones from screen time. Edit: also obesity, which is a double-whammy of a) reducing libido, and b) reducing sexual attractiveness
- ltbarcly3 3y agoThe constant drip of hormone like chemicals from plastic food containers. “The romans drank out of lead cups, they were so stupid” as I take a swig of caustic carbonated syrup out of a syrofoam cup that when it was empty smelled like chemicals to the point it would burn your nose a little if you took a big whiff when you opened the box of them.
- 29athrowaway 3y agoAlso endocrine disruptors. Phtalates, PFAS, azatrine, glyphosate, artificial coloring, etc.
- throwaway118899 3y agoOdd, taking an antidepressant was the best thing I ever did for my sex life. Small doses of Sertraline does wonders for performance anxiety and premature ejaculation.
- Zetobal 3y agoPost hoc ergo propter hoc
- stuaxo 3y agoThe rich hoarding all the wealth, means everybody is too busy trying to make a living and too tired.
- leobg 3y agoThis has zero sum written all over it. And yet, it might be true.
- nybsop 3y agoThe industrial revolution created unusual economic conditions that evened out socioeconomic inequalities. The socioeconomic inequality that existed before then is probably a more nature state for societies to tend towards. Over time the inequality will eventually be restored.
- somedude895 3y agoPeople used to work much harder than they do today. Also, my working class friends are much more sexually active than the cushy office job university degree ones.
- collaborative 3y agoAren't STDs at an all time high? How does this relate to low levels of sex?
- throwaway13337 3y agoThere was a sort of pop-economics book titled after the paradoxical truth "More sex is safer sex". It's about topology. Star topologies (e.g. one man and many women) are more spreading of STDs than graphs that have evenly distributed edges. More total people having sex with more partners brings about fewer STDs due to diffusion. https://books.google.co.ao/books?id=07sYZRyFXAAC&printsec=frontcover&hl=pt-PT&source=gbs_book_other_versions_r&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false https://books.google.co.ao/books?id=07sYZRyFXAAC&printsec=fr...
- networkchad 3y ago[dead]
- globular-toast 3y agoPeople aren't scared of STDs like they used to be. Even HIV isn't considered scary any more. Couple that with how good birth control is and easy access to abortions and you find unprotected sex is the norm now. For high levels of STDs you don't need people to be having a lot of sex; it only takes one time to catch something. So promiscuity and low condom use would account for it.
- User23 3y agoSomewhat strangely, this makes me think of something Dijkstra wrote[1]: Technology is expert at inflicting radical novelties upon mankind. Nuclear weapons and the pill are examples from the last 50 years; so is in my opinion the automatic computer, and this not so much in its capacity of a tool —in that capacity it causes only a ripple on the surface of our culture— as in its capacity of a challenge that is absolutely without precedent in the history of Mankind. While no doubt screens and porn and so on are contributing factors, it’s probably worth considering the sexual impact of near ubiquitous intentionally taken sexual endocrine disrupters. In my personal experience women who go off the pill have marked increases in libido. Of course that’s anecdotal, but the plural of anecdote is data. [1] https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/transcriptions/EWD10xx/EWD1035.html https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/transcriptions/EWD10xx/E...
- dachworker 3y agoMaybe a controversial opinion, but I'm pretty happy with this trend. I see no value in extra-marital sex. I was always put off by the cultural expectation that one is supposed to "experiment" sexually, before one decides to settle down.
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- grafelic 3y agoA possible contributing factor is that people, and especially young people, are drinking less alcohol than the generations prior, which is leading to stronger inhibitions, a lower frequency of one-night stands and no hangover sex. No, I have no sources for this assumption at hand.
- hcfman 3y agoHopefully this trend will result in population growth slow down to give other species a chance.
- leobg 3y agoWasn’t there something on there yesterday about macaques starting now to use tools? Go macaques, go! :)
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- freitzkriesler2 3y ago[flagged]
- mancerayder 3y agoWith all the obsession over the water supply, why don't people use filters or simply buy glass bottled water? I enjoy German spring water which has a slew of minerals naturally in it including 20 pct calcium by USDA recommended allowance. The tap water tastes like crap to me, something which doesn't affect others. I taste chlorine and a sweet chemical flavor that American water has, that others view as neutral or delicious. But if it's true about microplastics in the water, what are people waiting for?
- wakawaka28 3y agoBottled water is expensive, and filtration will not remove all chemicals. You could drink distilled water but that has other problems because it has zero minerals.
- mattgreenrocks 3y agoTRT worries me. Won’t I need to be on it for life?
- freitzkriesler2 3y agoSorry I didn't reply, the answer is yes if you want the benefits of TRT. If you start and then stop, you'll do a post cycle therapy of either hcg or clomid to fire up the old boys. But you'll end up right back where you started. The goal isn't to blast your self with so much test you need other drugs to manage it. I do 100ml split into two shots every 3.5 days. This gives you a boost without need other drugs.
- loa_in_ 3y agoI always wonder is the "safe to eat" level something that says it's not going to do you any harm, not seriously debilitate you or not kill you?
- rhelz 3y agoWe've outsourced our sex life to porn stars. Er, at least that's what one of my friends says....
- wakawaka28 3y agoNo, porn is huge because people (especially men) aren't getting laid enough for other reasons.
- achenet 3y agoit's both I think. Lack of sex -> porn -> bad habits -> lack of sex... I've found personally that generally speaking, my sex life/ability to meet and pursue relationships with women is somewhat inversely correlated with porn use, and hence generally avoid it :)
- wakawaka28 3y agoBirth control, endocrine disruptive chemicals, engineered strife about "oppression" of women, FUD about global warming and overpopulation, STDs, villification of normal sexual dynamics like men approaching women, poor media depictions of healthy dating and family norms, a concerted effort to make childbirth seem like a tremendously painful and risky thing to be avoided at all costs. It's a wonder anyone is having sex, much less having kids. If this doesn't turn around, we're in for a bunch of trouble.
- timbit42 3y agoLiberté, égalité, fertilité
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- nojvek 3y agoScreens are really good at entertaining our brains. Before screens, if you are bored you go out and hang out with other people. And the push-pull of romance is entertaining, the sex and the physical activity is a huge rush of hormones to the brain. But we can get a similar rush of hormones on demand by visiting any porn site.
- swat535 3y agoI don't think there's a single answer to this as it is a multi facade problem. However I have been wondering is how much the global decline of testosterone levels in men has been contributing to this? Speaking personally, I had no idea my testosterone levels were low until my wife and I started having arguments over sex, I know it sounds ridiculous but I had close to no libido as a man in his 30s. Even when I was younger I had no desire for sex and just thought it's "the way I am". My wife and I are both Catholics so naturally we don't attribute much value to sex however after a series of frustrating fights, I did some research and figured I should get tested.. When my results came back, I was only at 10nmol/L! After repeating the test multiple times (3 times, before 9AM), my baseline was established at 10-12 nmol/L.. This was _very_ surprising as I have a healthy BMI, exercise regularly (weight lifting + cardio 2x a week) and eat well.. Anyway after being refused by public doctors for TRT (since I'm in the "normal" range), I finally had it. I went to see a private urologist and he immediately put me on HCG + TRT and it has been incredible.. It has been 5 months now and my mood is much better, my libido is like a teenager and I have more energy. Moral of the story: check your testosterone levels gentlemen!
- QuantumGood 3y agoRecommendations for how to find an m.d. open to HCG + TRT?
- valianteffort 3y agoDepending on your age I would exhaust all natural avenues for increasing free-test before resorting to exogeneous. With that said, at least in the US, there are many clinics that specialize in TRT specifically with the current wave of popularity. Just call around its not illegal to ask.
- GaryNumanVevo 3y agoA bit of warning about TRT, I was put on it after having a thyroid issue. I started experiencing male pattern baldness within 4 months. My hormones are back without TRT thankfully, but my hairline has receded significantly.
- ProfessorLayton 3y agoA lot of comments here are pointing to specific causes such as microplastics and testosterone levels, prescriptions etc. Perhaps there's something to it, but gay/bi men specifically aren't slowing down, so this seems to be a uniquely straight issue [1]: "In the post hoc analyses, an increase in sexual inactivity and having no sexual partners among men was observed in most sociodemographic subgroups but not among gay or bisexual participants..." [1] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2767066 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle... Medical advancements such as the availability of PrEP have been a boon to the gay community, and it's paired with frequent STD testing. Gay men are exposed to the same environmental hazards, and also have smartphones/social media, so I'm not convinced that's what been slowing down their straight counterparts.
- ssnri 3y agohere’s my simplified but experienced take: Increased obesity is definitely part of why straight men reject straight women. Mental health is probably the number one reason why straight women reject straight men. straight women expect straight men to be willing to go to therapy, but also to not need it in the first place the mental health expectations placed on straight men are unrealistic meanwhile, gay men see traumatized men and try to claim them. There’s a misunderstanding that men who got picked on in school are ripe for gay conversion. Not all gay men are predators, but hey I’ve been sexually harassed by both straight women and gay men, and it’s definitely more gay men. I think it comes down to how the different groups perceive mental health difference, and perhaps that gay men feel safer pushing when they’ve already gotten a “no” versus straight women who have more to worry about regarding their safety.
- ProfessorLayton 3y agoExcept mental health issues are more prevalent in the LGBT community, and in fact is a major reason for increased substance use within that subgroup [1]. If declining mental health was the reason straight men weren’t having sex, we’d expect to see the same/worse declines for gay/bi men too. [1] https://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/press-announcements/20230613/samhsa-releases-new-data-lesbian-gay-bisexual-behavioral-health https://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/press-announcements/20230613...
- xahix 3y agoBeside that people don't have marry someone today, I think porn is a key here. Even if only the men should be affected by porn (mis)use, we already have some within 50% of the target group who no longer have desire to have sex. Or in another words: No drive. I don't know the effects of porn on womens