Young people are having less casual sex and spending more time scrolling on social media

• Millennials and Gen Z are having less casual sex than previous generations, according to a January study.
• These findings parallel existing evidence that younger people aren't having partnered sex either.
• Less alcohol consumption, more social media, and living with parents for longer may contribute.

There's now more evidence that millennials and Gen Z are having less casual sex than previous generations.

According to a January 1 study from researchers at Rutgers University and the University at Albany, men and women between the ages of 18 and 23 had significantly less casual sex, or sex without a long-term partner, than the young adults who came up 10 years before them.

Researchers looked at existing data about family dynamics and lifestyles, collected between 2007 and 2017, specifically examining responses about sexual activity for 945 women and 1,040 men.

They found that 38% of the young adults studied had casual sex in 2007, and that number dropped to 24% in 2017.

After examining other data, the researchers believe decreased alcohol consumption, social media scrolling, increased video game playing, and young adults living with parents for longer periods of time led to the 14% drop over the 10-year period.

"The recent cohorts of young people adopt adult roles later in their lives and depend on their parents for longer periods," Lei Lei, a study co-author and assistant professor of sociology at Rutgers, said in a press release emailed to Insider. "The declining engagement in casual sex among this age group could be another sign of delayed transition into adulthood."

Americans are going through a 'sex recession'

This isn't the first time research has suggested sex - both casual and partnered - is on the decline across the US.

In December 2018, The Atlantic reporter Kate Julian published a story on America's growing "sex recession" due to a lack of sex among the millennial generation.

Data from the 2019 General Social Survey reinforced the idea that the United States is in the midst of a larger "Great American Sex Drought," The Washington Post reported.

Celibacy rates have increased steadily over the past three decades, but in 2018 the share of people who reported not having sex for the entire previous year was the highest on record. According to General Social Survey data, nearly one in four US adults reported having no sex during the past year.

It appears millennials are fueling the trend, and Gen Z is contributing now too. From 2008 to 2018, the share of Americans ages 18 to 29 who reported having no sex doubled. Young people are marrying later in life (if at all) and may be having less sex as a result.

"There are more people in their 20s who don't have a live-in partner," Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, told The Post. "So under those circumstances I think less sex is going to happen."

Social media is distracting millennials from sex

In addition to marriage trends, changing cultural norms may also be contributing to the sex drought. The increased availability of online entertainment, including streaming services and social media, plays a role in how often sex occurs, Julian's piece on The Atlantic explains. That means even people who are coupled up may choose to spend their free time on Netflix or Instagram rather than on sexual intimacy with their partner.

Additionally, women have gained more independence in recent decades and feel they have a greater ability to pick and choose their partners. Straight women are getting married at record-low rates, according to Census data.

Still, this new data suggests young people aren't the only ones widely abstaining from sex. It also raises the question of whether less sex is necessarily a bad thing, especially if it means women are more independent and able to exercise more control over their bodies.