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By Suzanne Blake
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For years, headlines have warned of a “sex recession” among young adults, with Gen Z often cast as less interested in physical relationships than previous generations.
But new data from a scientific study suggests the reality may be more nuanced and that there’s likely not a decline in interest, but a shift in how sexual satisfaction is defined.
A new analysis from women’s health app Flo, based on nearly 28,000 participants, found that Gen Z respondents reported only a slightly lower rate of partnered sexual activity (87.2 percent) compared to older groups (89.9 percent).
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When it came to sexual satisfaction, orgasm frequency mattered but emotional connection and partnered experiences played a far greater role.
Why It Matters
Previous reports suggested Gen Z is having less sex than previous generations.
According to Women’s Health Interactive, 25 percent of Gen Z adults reported that they have not yet had partnered sex in 2020.
While 31 percent of Gen Z men age 18 to 24 reported no sexual activity in the year of the study, only 14 percent of millennial men said the same.
But experts say those statistics may not tell the full story. Even if some young adults are having sex less often, that does not necessarily translate into a lack of interest or decline in the importance of sex in their lives.
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What To Know
The new research examined both solo and partnered sexual experiences, and Gen Z was not actually having sex at a much lower rate than any other generation.
The report found overall around 56 percent of respondents were moderately or very satisfied with their sex lives, while 19.5 percent reported dissatisfaction.
"This research is vital because it moves us away from guessing about female pleasure and toward evidence-based insights. It empowers women to understand that feeling less pressure during solo sex is a common experience," said Liudmila Zhaunova, Ph.D., director of science at Flo and senior study author.
Previously, mental health was believed to be a major factor impacting sexual behavior norms among younger adults.
According to the Kinsey Institute, Gen Z adults reported the highest levels of stress and anxiety compared to millennials and Gen X.
“Stress is a libido killer. It disrupts our hormonal balance, hijacks the brain’s pleasure circuits, and makes it hard—sometimes impossible—to connect with our sexual selves,” neuroscientist and sex therapist Nan Wise wrote for Psychology Today.
“It plays a big role in how many people are currently feeling sexually dissatisfied, if they even want sex at all.”
A Shift in How Satisfaction Is Defined
However, one of the new study’s clearest takeaways is that context matters more than output.
Participants reported that solo sexual experiences often came with less pressure and more control, which made orgasm easier to achieve.
However, those advantages did not translate into higher satisfaction levels. Instead, satisfaction was more closely tied to shared experiences and interpersonal connection.
"This study illustrates a crucial distinction in sexual psychology: the difference between physiological release and relational fulfillment. While masturbation is a fantastic tool for self-knowledge and stress relief, it can function as a 'maintenance' activity. For many women, sexual satisfaction is deeply intertwined with the connection and shared intimacy of partnered sex," said Jordan Rullo, Ph.D., certified sex therapist and adjunct professor of psychology at the University of Utah and a key researcher in the study.
What Happens Next
Experts say non-traditional forms of intimacy may be reshaping what sexual activity looks like for Gen Z.
But because the study sample consisted primarily of Flo app users who are overwhelmingly women, this may limit how broadly the findings can be generalized to all populations or to men.
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