‘Tinder generation’ turns its back on sex, as millennials are less likely to be promiscuous than their parents’ generation, by John Bingham.

Today’s young people are the least promiscuous generation since the 1920s, an academic study suggests.

Researchers who analysed findings from a long-running social survey from the US found that those now in their early 20s are almost three times as likely not to be sexually active as their parents’ generation.

The authors concluded that, contrary to the popular assumption, those who came of age in the era of online dating apps such as Tinder are less prone to casual encounters than their predecessors. …

The findings tallies with British studies suggesting that young people today are not only less likely than previous generations to have casual sex but also more likely to avoid other “risky” behaviours such as heavy drinking, drug-taking and crime.

Some experts have speculated that it could be the result of social media, with young people simply spending less time physically in each other’s company.

Official figures published earlier this year showed that teenage pregnancy rates in England and Wales have almost halved since the birth of social media as a global phenomenon.

The authors of the latest study suggested that the decline could be the result of a combination of the historically high number of young adults living with their parents as well as increased access to instant entertainment and even online pornography.

Back in my late teens and twenties we had no computers or social media, so had far more time on our hands.

hat-tip Stephen Neil, Matthew