19 Aug 2025

Feature interview: Why is Gen Z having less sex?

From Afternoons, 3:10 pm on 19 August 2025

While that might not sound bad, the reason why and the fallout can be. One in four adult Gen Zers hasn't had sex, and Carter Sherman says the loss of intimacy is fueling loneliness, anxiety, and porn addiction. She's a reproductive health and justice reporter at The Guardian. Gen Z experiences intimacy mostly online, through platforms like TikTok and dating apps. Sherman has spent the past several years talking to hundreds of teens and young adults. She says porn, online isolation and political pressure have come together to change the way young people experience sex and intimacy. Her book is called The Second Coming: Sex and the Next Generation's Fight Over its Future. She spoke to Jesse.

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