Gen Z has a lot going for it. It does not, statistically, have a lot of sex.
The percentage of 18-29-year-olds who reported no sex in the past year doubled between 2010 and 2024, from around 12% to 24%, according to data cited by DatingAdvice.com and the Kinsey Institute. About half of Gen Z adults have never had sex at all. Dating app burnout, economic pressure, a retreat from in-person socializing, and the gravitational pull of screens have all been identified as contributing factors. Board-certified sexologist Angie Rowntree, founder of Sssh.com, has five suggestions for anyone who’d like to do something about it.
1. Leave the House
More and more people describe themselves as antisocial, and then wonder why they’re not meeting anyone new. Screen-based life replaces the casual social encounters that unfold into romantic or sexual opportunity. “Your phone has never once introduced you to anyone,” Rowntree notes. Focus on who’s actually in the room. The FYP will still be there when you get home.
2. Solo Sex Counts
Sex doesn’t disappear from the equation just because there’s no partner around. Rowntree’s case for masturbation is pretty simple: keeping “the erotic circuitry active” means desire has somewhere to go between encounters. People who stay connected to their own bodies usually have better sex when someone else is involved. Knowing what you want is a skill, and skills require practice.
3. Stop Treating Sex Like an Audition
Many Gen Z adults avoid intimate situations because they feel too high-pressure, which just compounds the problem. “Partnered sex is not an Olympic sporting event,” Rowntree says. It’s two consenting adults trying to have a good time, and real intimacy can’t reasonably be compared to a professionally shot adult film with professional performers. “Nobody watches a movie car chase and takes driving notes,” she adds. “Porn works the same way.”
4. Try Ethical Erotica
Ethically produced adult content that’s story-driven, performance-centric, and built around true pleasure can help reawaken desire without the emotional demands of finding a partner. Sssh.com, Rowntree’s platform, produces films, audio content, and erotic fiction with that idea in mind. The audio format especially can re-engage the imagination without the more prescriptive visual cues of conventional porn. Close your eyes, listen, and let your hands do the rest. As Rowntree says, “Doomscrolling is the theft of joy and orgasms.” Ethical erotica is the alternative.
5. Practice Saying What You Want
The most overlooked variable in good sex is verbal fluency. Rowntree makes the case for talking about desire the way you’d talk about anything you’re curious about, starting with people you’re comfortable with. Real intimacy doesn’t come with an edit button—getting comfortable being weirdly you is the whole point. “Being someone who can talk openly about desire is genuinely magnetic,” she says. “Fluency beats technique, every time.”
The sex recession is documented and, for many people, reversible. A partner isn’t even required for most of these. Just the willingness to put the screen down and want something that isn’t on it.
The post 5 Tips to Break Out of Your Sex Recession, According to a Sexologist appeared first on VICE.
