although a drop in drinking poured cold water on casual copulation for both genders, researchers found that — when it comes to men — don’t hate the player, hate the video games. while alcohol reduction accounted for 33 per cent of the drop in sexual behaviour among young men, a growing gaming habit was right behind, contributing to 25 per cent of the decrease. young men who play video games on a daily basis were found to have just half the chance of a casual hookup as those who don’t game.
living at home obviously didn’t help matters much and was the only other significant factor for men, accounting for 10 per cent of the developing dry spell. those still sharing a nest with mom and dad hooked up at just 63 per cent the rate of those who had already flown the coup.
“the recent cohorts of young people adopt adult roles later in their lives and depend on their parents for longer periods,”
said lei lei
, co-author of the study and an assistant professor of sociology at rutgers. “the declining engagement in casual sex among this age group could be another sign of delayed transition into adulthood.”
in the case of young women, a decrease in alcohol consumption was the only significant factor found to increase abstinence. “although both young women and young men play computer games more frequently now than in the past, gaming inhibits only young men’s casual sex behaviour,” researchers wrote. “the factors hypothesized to explain the decline in casual sexual intercourse explain a greater portion of the decline in young men’s than in young women’s propensity to engage in casual sex.”