Have you had less sex since the start of the lockdown and the half meter society? You’re not the only one! Only 1 in 5 singles did have sex with a partner during this period. That partner is often not a one-night stand, but a sex buddy. And that is perhaps a good thing, because far fewer people go to the doctor for an STI test or a contraception consultation. That appears from research by Rutgers and STI AIDS Netherlands.
The corona crisis sometimes made it very difficult for singles. The advice is namely to only have sex with a steady partner who lives in your house. In this way, the spread of the new coronavirus must be limited. But if you are single, that is of course not possible. The only solution then seems to be not to have sex.
That is exactly what many young people are doing: half of the single young people between 16 and 20 years old who still had sex before corona have not had it since the crisis. A similar picture is visible among adult singles. A third of men have had no sex, half of women. Logically, singles between the ages of 18 and 24 are also less satisfied with their sex life than before the crisis.
Only one in five singles did share the bed with another during the crisis, according to the survey. But that’s especially with a sex buddy. 58 percent of younger and adult singles chose a partner with whom they had sex more often.
Less dating, more porn
Logically, these effects lead to all kinds of other developments among singles. For example, 40 percent of young people say they date less than before. If they do flirt, they do so mainly online: 60 percent of single young people and 37 percent of young people with a relationship flirt nowadays more often via a message on WhatsApp or Instagram. And both youth and adults are now using dating apps more often than for corona.
But a date doesn’t always lead to sex, and online flirting certainly doesn’t. So many singles are also more into solo sex. 30 percent of young people between the ages of 16 and 20 say they masturbate more and 29 percent now watch more porn. Remarkably, much has changed less among adults aged 18 and older. Only 13 percent of the single men and 18 percent of the single women watch more porn.
No STD test, no birth control
That increase in solo sex is perhaps a good thing. Young people are less likely to be tested for STIs than for corona. 8 percent of the young people actually wanted to be tested, but did not. 31 percent did not because they thought the emergency workers were too busy. 11 percent were afraid of contracting a corona infection.
In addition, there are all kinds of women who did not go to the doctor for contraception. 42 percent of young women between the ages of 16 and 20 were unable to regulate (new) contraception. 9 percent did not do this because of corona-related measures. Incidentally, almost no unwanted pregnancies have been reported during corona, so the damage is not too bad.
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