- Multiple studies show Generation Z is having less sex than previous generations at the same age, but experts say the reasons are more complex than a lack of interest.
- Researchers point to a combination of economic uncertainty, mental health struggles, changing attitudes toward consent, smartphones and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- While sexual activity has declined, many young adults say they still want meaningful relationships, just on different terms than those who came before them.
For decades, every generation of young adults seemed to arrive with the same accusation from those before them that they were moving too fast, dating too casually and having too much sex. But, Generation Z appears to have broken that pattern.
Instead of ushering in an era of unprecedented sexual freedom, a growing body of research suggests today’s young adults are having less sex, entering relationships later and becoming increasingly cautious about intimacy.
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The shift has surprised sociologists, psychologists and relationship experts alike.
Young people born roughly between 1997 and 2012 grew up with smartphones, unlimited access to pornography, dating applications and social media, technologies many assumed would make romance and casual sex more accessible than ever before.
Instead, evidence from multiple national surveys paints a different picture.
The decline has become so pronounced that researchers have begun referring to it as a “sex recession“, a gradual but sustained reduction in sexual activity among young adults that predates the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued in the years since.
But contrary to popular belief, experts caution against interpreting the trend as proof that Generation Z has lost interest in love, relationships or sex. Rather, they argue that young adults are navigating a world that has fundamentally changed.
The Numbers Behind the Trend
One of the clearest indicators comes from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
According to the latest available data, only about 32% of American high school students reported ever having had sexual intercourse in 2023. That represents a sharp decline from 54% in 1991 and 47% in 2013.
Research based on the long-running General Social Survey (GSS) also shows sexual activity among adults has steadily fallen over the past three decades.
Among adults aged 18 to 64, the proportion reporting sex at least once a week dropped from 55% in 1990 to 37% by 2024. Young adults aged 18 to 29 experienced the steepest decline, with nearly one-quarter reporting they had not had sex in the previous year, roughly double the proportion recorded in 2010.
Separate research from the Kinsey Institute similarly found a sizeable proportion of adult members of Generation Z had never had partnered sex, reinforcing evidence that the decline extends beyond adolescence.
Researchers say these findings are consistent across multiple surveys, making it increasingly difficult to dismiss the trend as a statistical anomaly.
Why Experts Say It Is Happening
The simplest explanation that Generation Z simply does not like sex, is also the least convincing.
Instead, researchers point to a combination of social, economic and psychological changes that have reshaped how young people form relationships.
Perhaps the most significant is the transformation of everyday social life.
Previous generations met partners in classrooms, neighbourhoods, workplaces, churches, parties or through mutual friends. Today’s young adults increasingly spend their leisure time online.
Data analysed by researchers show that weekly socialising among young adults has fallen sharply over the past decade, reducing opportunities for spontaneous interaction and relationship formation.
That decline has coincided with an explosion in screen time.
Social media has made people more connected digitally while, paradoxically, leaving many reporting greater loneliness in real life. Psychologists say digital communication often replaces face-to-face interaction rather than complementing it.
Technology has also changed how young people evaluate themselves.
Constant exposure to carefully curated images on social media has intensified concerns about appearance, rejection and self-worth.
For many, initiating romantic relationships now carries a heightened fear of embarrassment in an age where rejection can feel public and permanent.
A Generation Shaped by Anxiety
Mental health is another recurring theme in research examining Generation Z.
This generation reports higher levels of anxiety, depression and loneliness than many previous generations at the same stage of life. Experts say emotional distress can reduce both sexual desire and the motivation to pursue relationships.
The COVID-19 pandemic further disrupted critical years of social development. Teenagers who might otherwise have learned how to navigate friendships, dating and emotional intimacy instead experienced prolonged isolation during lockdowns.
Many researchers believe those interruptions continue to influence relationship patterns years later.
Yet experts caution against viewing the decline entirely as a negative development.
Generation Z has grown up during an era of heightened awareness around consent, harassment and personal autonomy. Many young adults are more likely to discuss emotional readiness, boundaries and mutual respect before becoming sexually involved.
For some researchers, fewer sexual encounters do not necessarily reflect declining interest in intimacy.
Instead, they may indicate more deliberate choices about when, and with whom to pursue relationships.
The Economics of Romance
Beyond technology lies another challenge that previous generations encountered to a lesser extent: money.
Generation Z entered adulthood during a period marked by soaring inflation, expensive housing, rising tuition costs and uncertain labour markets.
For many young adults, financial stability has become a prerequisite for serious relationships rather than something built alongside a partner.
Researchers have found that economic insecurity is closely associated with delayed marriage, postponed family formation and reduced sexual activity.
Simply put, many young people say they do not feel financially prepared to date seriously.
Rent consumes a growing share of income in many cities. Home ownership remains out of reach for millions of young adults, while student debt continues to shape life decisions in countries such as the United States.
Under these conditions, relationships often become secondary to financial survival.
Sociologists argue that romance has become increasingly intertwined with economic confidence. When people feel uncertain about the future, they are more likely to delay long-term commitments, including dating itself.
More Than Just Money
Economics alone does not explain the decline.
Researchers have also observed that young adults are living with their parents longer than previous generations, reducing both independence and privacy. For many, maintaining a romantic relationship while living at home presents practical challenges.
Experts also caution against blaming pornography alone.
While some studies suggest heavy pornography consumption may influence expectations about intimacy or reduce motivation for partnered sex among certain individuals, recent reviews conclude it does not adequately explain the broad decline in sexual activity. Instead, researchers describe the trend as the product of multiple social, economic and psychological forces working together.
Perhaps the greatest irony is that Generation Z is often described as the most digitally connected generation in history.
Yet it is also among the loneliest.
Researchers increasingly distinguish between being connected online and feeling emotionally connected.
Hundreds of online interactions can coexist with profound loneliness, while remote work, online education, streaming services and food delivery have quietly reduced many of the everyday encounters through which relationships naturally develop.
Could Nigeria Be Heading in the Same Direction?
Unlike the United States and several European countries, Nigeria does not yet have nationally representative research tracking whether Generation Z is having less sex or entering relationships later than previous generations.
That makes it difficult to conclude that Nigeria is experiencing what some researchers have described elsewhere as a “sex recession.”
Still, many of the conditions associated with declining intimacy are becoming increasingly visible among Nigerian young adults.
The rising cost of living, youth unemployment, inflation and housing challenges have made financial independence more difficult to achieve. For many young Nigerians, securing a stable income now takes precedence over dating, marriage or starting a family.
The country’s migration wave, popularly known as “Japa,” has also reshaped relationships. Thousands of young Nigerians continue to relocate abroad for education and employment, often placing long-distance relationships under strain or postponing plans for marriage altogether.
Technology has also transformed how young Nigerians meet and interact.
Social media and dating applications have become increasingly common, particularly in major cities such as Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.
While they have expanded opportunities to meet new people, they have also introduced many of the frustrations reported elsewhere, including ghosting, superficial interactions and dating fatigue.
Mental health professionals in Nigeria have similarly raised concerns about increasing levels of anxiety, loneliness and depression among young adults.
Although direct links between these trends and sexual behaviour remain under-researched, psychologists broadly agree that emotional wellbeing plays an important role in forming and sustaining intimate relationships.
Taken together, these developments do not prove Nigeria is following the same path as countries where declining sexual activity has been extensively documented.
They do, however, suggest that many of the underlying pressures are no longer unique to Western societies
Conclusion
In general, Generation Z, they say, has not abandoned intimacy. Rather, it appears to be approaching it more cautiously than previous generations.
An emerging body of research also suggests that many young adults are placing greater value on friendship, emotional safety and shared values before pursuing romantic relationships. Rather than replacing romance altogether, friendships may increasingly serve as the foundation from which lasting relationships eventually grow.
Whether the current trend represents a temporary pause or a lasting cultural transformation remains uncertain.
History suggests that social behaviour changes alongside economic conditions, technological innovation and cultural expectations.
Generation Z has come of age during a period marked by global pandemics, economic instability, rapid technological change and growing concerns about mental health.
Those experiences have shaped how young adults think about relationships, intimacy and the future.
The evidence does not suggest that Generation Z has stopped wanting love. Nor does it support the claim that young people have abandoned sex altogether.
Instead, researchers increasingly describe a generation that is approaching intimacy more cautiously, entering relationships later and placing greater emphasis on emotional readiness than many of those who came before.
The question, then, is no longer whether Generation Z is having less sex. The more important question may be what that decline reveals about the world they have inherited.
