CNN: Americans less likely to have sex, partner up and get married than ever

[China]

Americans less likely to have sex, partner up and get married than ever

 

Valentine's Day is a day of love, a special day on which we're supposed to make sure that those around us know how much we care for them. But on this day when Cupid is supposed to strike us with his arrow, there are several reasons to think "love" (by its many definitions) isn't what it once was in the United States, for better or for worse.

 

Indeed, here are four potentially troubling statistics and one potentially positive sign about love in the US.
 

Twenty-six percent of Americans ages 18 and up didn't have sex once over the past 12 months, according to the 2021 General Social Survey. You might think this is just a pandemic effect, but it's part of a long-term trend. The two years with next-highest percentage of adults saying they didn't have sex once in the past year were 2016 (23%) and 2018 (23%) -- the last two times the survey was conducted. Before 2004, the highest percentage of Americans who said they hadn't had sex in the past year was 19%.

Last year's survey was also the first time that the percentage of Americans who had sex once a month or less topped 50%. In 1989, 35% of American adults had sex once a month or less.

Some of this has to do with fewer people getting married and an aging population, but that doesn't explain all of it. Among married couples under the age of 60, 26% had sex once a month or less in 2021. In 1989, it was 12%. The 1980s really were better for sex.

 

It's not just about sex. Some 62% of Americans ages 25 to 54 lived with a partner or were married, according to a 2021 Pew Research Center study of 2019 US Census Bureau data. This included 53% who were married and 9% who were cohabitating. That's well below the 71% of couples who lived together in 1990, with 67% married and 4% cohabitating.

You might think the growing share of unmarried people living without a spouse is due to rising educational levels among women who don't need the financial support of a man. The statistics tell a different story, though. Better educated people and higher wage earners are the most likely to live with a partner or be married. A lot of people won't get married if they don't think it's financially feasible, according to Pew polling.

There's also been a higher increase in unmarried men living alone (10 points) than women (7 points) compared to the 1990 baseline.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Sacks 'n' Stuff]

Some things are just better when you’re by yourself. Like sex.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

I've been talking with my wife about this...

 

People are living more isolated lives, especially the younger generations. I read an article a couple years ago that teen pregnancy rates were down which seemed, on the surface, to be a very encouraging statistic. But as they drilled into the root causes it was believed to be much more likely linked to kids spending more time alone than because they were practicing safe sex or being more responsible. 

 

It's pretty alarming how comfortable society is becoming getting its human connection virtually, through social media, etc. 

[Riggo-toni]

Science has uncovered a food that reduces a woman's sex drive by 93% - it's called Wedding Cake.

[Corcaigh]

4 hours ago, Riggo-toni said:

Science has uncovered a food that reduces a woman's sex drive by 93% - it's called Wedding Cake.

 

I've seen that joke before somewhere.

 

 

Edited February 15, 2022 by Corcaigh

[skinsmarydu]

4 hours ago, Riggo-toni said:

Science has uncovered a food that reduces a woman's sex drive by 93% - it's called Wedding Cake.

Courthouse, matching Duke shirts, no cake. 

That schism never hit me. 

[China]

Pandemic shifts priorities of singles toward commitment, stability

 

Singles are "growing up," according to one of the nation's leading researchers on dating and human sexuality. 

 

Dr. Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist and senior researcher at the Kinsey Institute, has studied love and human sexuality for around four decades and says her latest research shows that during the pandemic, "stability is the new sexy."

 

Dr. Fisher, along with Kinsey Institute executive director Justin Garcia, conducted the 11th annual Singles In America study in conjunction with data firm Dynata, a survey funded by Match.com. The study, published in November, collected data from 5,000 singles ages 18 to 98 and surveyed attitudes and behaviors related to dating.

 

Among the most significant changes in dating patterns, Fisher noted, is a "historic" shift towards commitment. Dr. Fisher says the number of singles desiring marriage jumped from 58% in 2019 to 76% in 2021.

 

"It's really remarkable," said Dr. Fisher. "This pandemic has created what I call 'post-traumatic growth.' They're now looking for something different."

 

Eleven percent of singles surveyed say they are dating casually, which Fisher says is typical year-to-year. 

 

"What we don't find every year is this enormous swing towards people wanting to find a long-term committed relationship," she said.

 

Along those lines, the study also found singles desire a partner who is "emotionally mature" (83%) over a partner who is "physically attractive" (78%). In 2020, the year before, those desiring physical attraction was 90%.

 

"They’re less interested in what you look like and more interested in whether you’re financially stable and fully employed," Fisher said.

 

Click on the link for the full article