In a new study from San Diego University, Hunter College, and the Florida Atlantic University, researchers have found that people born between 1946 and 1981 had 11 sexual partners. This new study showed that people had 11 sexual partners who were born during this time regardless of their ages, but the millennial generation is actually more conservative in terms of sexual partners. The study showed that the millennial generation, which is people born between 1982 and 1999 only had 8 sexual partners on average. While the millennial generation might be having sex with less people overall, the millennial generation is more accepting of premarital sex, and tend not worry about the consequences of premarital sex compared to the older generation.
The researchers looked at records of over 33,000 adults who were monitored for many years, and the views of people about premarital sex began to change in the beginning of the 1970s. The researchers really wanted to know why the millennial generation was having less sexual partners since their views on premarital sex were positive. Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University, said that millennials are having fewer sexual partners because of the fear of sexually transmitted diseases. There is also the fact that millennials tend to lean more towards the friends with benefits angle, which means they have less sexual partners because they are just hooking up with a certain group of people repeatedly.
The researchers also found that the millennial generation is favorable towards homosexuality, which the older generation seems to be more reluctant to embrace because of values and traditions. In 1973, only 11 percent of people were involved in a homosexual relationship, whereas in 2012 that number went up to 44 percent. In 2012, 51 percent of women said they were homosexual, while only 35 percent of men said they were part of the homosexual population. So not only are the millennials more accepting of the homosexual lifestyle, but it appears more people are willing to accept that they are homosexual too.
Twenge also said that the culture shift of today compared to 70 years ago is why premarital sex is more acceptable. Twenge said that when you listen to songs these days, a lot of songs talk about “me” and “you” whereas back in the day the music was more focused on a “we” aspect. This is due to the society shifting towards personal needs and wants as opposed to living up to the standards of conventional social rules regarding relationships and overall attitudes.
When you look at the millennial generation, you have to remember that the fear of sexually transmitted diseases could be shifting people towards the friends with benefits angle. A lot of women especially feel that it is better to be with someone you know sexually than a new partner, since you are more likely to know what sexually transmitted diseases they have, if any. If you have had sex with a certain person for a few years and have not gotten any diseases, then you are more likely to feel comfortable with having sex with them later on down the road.
Although a lot of millennials are still not wearing condoms, which could also be due to the comfort level a lot of people feel when they have been with the same person on and off for years as a friend with benefits. When you look at the older generation, it was more accepting to have more sexual partners because sexually transmitted diseases were not as big of a thing as they are now, and these things were also not talked about openly like they are now. There were likely a lot of people who had diseases 60 years ago, but because sexuality was such a taboo subject, it was never something talked about, even with your sexual partner. The good news out of this study is that the millennial generation isn’t getting around as much sexually as the older generations, and this could help stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases somewhat.
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