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Why is it stupid? Obviously they don't mean every single Japanese young person hasn't stopped having sex. What the author means is that as a trend, they've st

by steven2012 13y ago

Why is it stupid? Obviously they don't mean every single Japanese young person hasn't stopped having sex. What the author means is that as a trend, they've stopped having sex, as evidenced by the declining population, the lack of young people in relationships, etc. From the data they cited from the surveys, it seems pretty incontrovertible that there is some sort of problem, despite your own personal anecdotes.

kalleboo 13y ago
Neither "declining population" nor "lack of young people in relationships" indicates people not having sex. It only indicates people not wanting families or kids.
- marcofloriano 13y ago
  Witch is worst, in my opinion.
- gaius 13y ago
  Right, but those aren't the only two signs we're talking about. If people are having lots of sex but don't want kids, we might see that in booming contraceptive sales. If people are having lots of sex but not using contraception and not having kids, well that would show up in wider culture too (e.g. gay dating sites would proliferate). Sex on a personal level is a very private thing for many people in many cultures, but trends can always been seen because there is always a commercial side.
- sanxiyn 13y ago
  Indeed, people not having procreative sex would be more correct.
veidr 13y ago
It's stupid because they have multiplied a couple anecdotes, conflated decreased reproductive output and formalized relationships with a decrease in actual sex, and gotten all breathless and hyperbolic about it. There's no evidence of any trend that young people in Japan have stopped having sex. That is what I was trying to point out: not being in an old-fashioned relationship, and not actually bearing children, does not any longer have any kind of direct relationship to how much sex you are having. There may well be ongoing generational changes to reproductive and marriage/relationship behavior in Japan, as there is elsewhere (c.f. everywhere on Earth), but this article doesn't go there.
- ugexe 13y ago
  Is this really that surprising? Just look at the Hikikomori increasing. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
- dthunt 13y ago
  I have upvoted this not because I agree, but because you have provided a basis for your statement about why you don't buy this line of reasoning. I look toward the prospects of women in Japan for an indication as to what's wrong. These are people who have grown up with dreams that society seems unwilling to support. For how many women in Japan is 'Maybe it's time to have a kid in the next few years' tantamount to "I must give up any dreams of having a career"?
- graycat 13y ago
  Calm down: Not having sex is for that article mostly just an exaggeration for a catchy headline. Of course they are having sex but likely less sex and less in love with commitment, caring, affection, intimacy, passion, joining of lives, vows, romance, trust, respect, responsiveness, supportive families (e.g., he gets a job in her father's business), collection of activities, memories, and traditions like, don't want to lose, can't get anywhere else, and that cause 'lock in', homes ("where the heart is, where you are loved even when you are wrong"), and children ("the most rewarding thing we did"). And why not just more one night stands? Because they are short on commitment (feel alone and, thus, scared in the morning), caring, ..., children. And just for passion, a good version requires the couple to have had a lot of time together and to care about each other -- e.g., for a man, the best result of passion is that, net, she smiles the rest of the evening, the next morning, and well into the next day, and that takes some mutual caring, practice, and effort. Why so value the smiles? Because they promise 1000 more good evenings of passion instead of maybe 0, lots of good back rubs, a nice breakfast, lots of 'contact comfort' for, say, another 24 hours, etc.
- scythe 13y ago

kalleboo 13y ago

Neither "declining population" nor "lack of young people in relationships" indicates people not having sex. It only indicates people not wanting families or kids.

marcofloriano 13y ago
Witch is worst, in my opinion.
gaius 13y ago
Right, but those aren't the only two signs we're talking about. If people are having lots of sex but don't want kids, we might see that in booming contraceptive sales. If people are having lots of sex but not using contraception and not having kids, well that would show up in wider culture too (e.g. gay dating sites would proliferate). Sex on a personal level is a very private thing for many people in many cultures, but trends can always been seen because there is always a commercial side.
sanxiyn 13y ago
Indeed, people not having procreative sex would be more correct.

veidr 13y ago

It's stupid because they have multiplied a couple anecdotes, conflated decreased reproductive output and formalized relationships with a decrease in actual sex, and gotten all breathless and hyperbolic about it. There's no evidence of any trend that young people in Japan have stopped having sex. That is what I was trying to point out: not being in an old-fashioned relationship, and not actually bearing children, does not any longer have any kind of direct relationship to how much sex you are having. There may well be ongoing generational changes to reproductive and marriage/relationship behavior in Japan, as there is elsewhere (c.f. everywhere on Earth), but this article doesn't go there.

ugexe 13y ago
Is this really that surprising? Just look at the Hikikomori increasing. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
dthunt 13y ago
I have upvoted this not because I agree, but because you have provided a basis for your statement about why you don't buy this line of reasoning. I look toward the prospects of women in Japan for an indication as to what's wrong. These are people who have grown up with dreams that society seems unwilling to support. For how many women in Japan is 'Maybe it's time to have a kid in the next few years' tantamount to "I must give up any dreams of having a career"?
graycat 13y ago
Calm down: Not having sex is for that article mostly just an exaggeration for a catchy headline. Of course they are having sex but likely less sex and less in love with commitment, caring, affection, intimacy, passion, joining of lives, vows, romance, trust, respect, responsiveness, supportive families (e.g., he gets a job in her father's business), collection of activities, memories, and traditions like, don't want to lose, can't get anywhere else, and that cause 'lock in', homes ("where the heart is, where you are loved even when you are wrong"), and children ("the most rewarding thing we did"). And why not just more one night stands? Because they are short on commitment (feel alone and, thus, scared in the morning), caring, ..., children. And just for passion, a good version requires the couple to have had a lot of time together and to care about each other -- e.g., for a man, the best result of passion is that, net, she smiles the rest of the evening, the next morning, and well into the next day, and that takes some mutual caring, practice, and effort. Why so value the smiles? Because they promise 1000 more good evenings of passion instead of maybe 0, lots of good back rubs, a nice breakfast, lots of 'contact comfort' for, say, another 24 hours, etc.
scythe 13y ago