International social research conducted in recent years indicates that sexual behaviors are changing worldwide, with the younger generation particularly at the center of this change. If the second half of the 20th century was characterized as the era of the “sexual revolution,” the first quarter of the 21st century is now being evaluated by many researchers as a phase of “sex recession.”
Modern.az reports, citing a new report jointly prepared by “DatingAdvice.com” and the Kinsey Institute, that the proportion of Generation Z individuals without sexual experience is significantly higher compared to previous generations.
Specifically, approximately 48 percent of Gen Z representatives reported never having had sexual intercourse. For comparison, it is noted that this figure is only 26 percent among millennials. Overall, one in five adults in the US states they have never had sexual intercourse.
One of the striking points of the report is that the virginity rate does not show a significant difference between genders. Specifically, 23 percent of men and 21 percent of women reported having no sexual experience. This indicates a weakening of social stereotypes and a more balanced approach to the issue compared to previous periods.
Ley Roberts, a representative of the Hint app, states that moving away from ambiguous relationships called “situationships” is actually a positive development. According to him, this is not a rejection of intimacy, but rather a transition to more purposeful and thoughtful relationships. In other words, young people prioritize compatibility and value alignment in relationships, rather than a casual flow.
This concern is also reflected in statistics. According to research by “Global Web Index,” approximately 80 percent of Generation Z representatives reported experiencing feelings of loneliness in the past year, and one in five states they often feel lonely.
Consequently, the decrease in sexual activity among Generation Z is not merely a behavioral change, but an indicator of a broader social and cultural transformation. For this generation, relationships are no longer solely built on physical intimacy; choice, consciousness, and emotional compatibility come to the forefront. This, in turn, raises new questions about how family, relationships, and social bonds will be formed in the future.
Large-scale surveys conducted in the US and Europe show that approximately one-quarter of young people aged 18–25 have not had sexual intercourse at all in the past year. This figure was around 10 percent for the same age group in the early 2000s. This means that the proportion of young people not engaging in sex has more than doubled in just two decades. At the same time, the fact that more than half of men aged 18–30 are single is also cited as one of the main factors strengthening this trend. This is considered a record level compared to previous generations.
Intergenerational comparison more clearly shows the depth of the difference. Millennials, i.e., those born in the 1980s–1990s, had sexual intercourse an average of 60–70 times a year. For Gen Z representatives, this figure is approximately half. What is even more interesting is that sexual activity in Gen X and “baby boomer” generations began at an earlier age and continued more stably as part of the institution of family. The wave of sexual liberation that occurred in the 1960s–70s, paradoxically, was accompanied by higher sexual activity than today's open and informed era.
