Well, that’s a whole lot of depressing graphs. Speaking of… I wonder if antidepressant use, or just depression rates in general, might have something to do with the married couples data.

According to Source Watch, The Institute for Family Studies (IFS) is

a conservative "think tank" which, according to its website, has the expressed mission "to strengthen marriage and natural family and advancing the well-being of children through research and public education."[1] Research from IFS and its employees are frequently cited and published in both conservative outlets such as National Review [2] and more mainstream ones, like the Washington Post.[3]. "IFS is a successor to the Ridge Foundation, through which Bradley and others used to support Wilcox's National Marriage Project."[1] The Institute for Family Studies says that its "commitment is rooted in the social-science fact that children are most likely to thrive when they are raised by their own married biological parents. The underlying premise of its work is that families and communities, freedom and prosperity, and the political order itself -- both at home and abroad -- are all critically dependent upon the existence of a strong healthy, pervasive marriage culture among the citizenry."[4]

I don't entirely understand how this fits their agenda (I would expect a "married heterosexuals are having more sex" narrative), and am not surprised by the results, but also don't really trust the source.

Im happily married to the love of my wife. We work opposite shifts, of 10+ hours, and we barely make ends meet. When are we supposed to do this?

Married women are having more sex than married men? Wait, where is my wife right now?

So, regular sex is down, but what about weird sex?

Universal healthcare, the ability to afford visiting third places, and making it possible to raise a family would help with this.

More married women are having sex than married men?

it would be super surprising if this didn't corelate with cost of living

I used to have sex almost every day, but entertainment kept getting more entertaining... Sure sex is great, but have you tried deep diving into the history of typefaces? Or learning how to bind your own books from cereal boxes and thread??

I know I'm only speaking anecdotally, but I feel like sex is easier to like fall into when you have the capacity to be actually bored, and like have plenty of unstructured time.

Maybe I'm falling for the entertainment arm of the productivity gospel.

Also realise that some people don't have access to anyone to suggest sex with, so that's an additional barrier. If I lived alone, I don't think I would even bother attempting—just so much else to do!

The conservatives are really mad that Americans are having so few babies. Less sex = less babies. One of the BIG reasons people aren't having kids/sex is because of the market being so shitty to start a family. But, the neo-cons don't need to worry. I'm sure the sex will trickle down from the billionaires any second now.

I don't want to have REGULAR sex.

I have major concerns with the source of this

Maybe it's difficult to enjoy things like sex when our very way of life is being dismantled in front of our eyes while we stand by helpless

So capitalism is killing sex, got it

Honestly, financial and now political stress have been stifling. It's hard to get in the mood when an authoritarian christo-fascist party is in charge of the government, constantly making headlines with their movements to destroying everything me and everyone I love cares about.

Damn... weekly? During the first couple of years of the relationship, sure.

Eight years later, now it's twice a month: right before and right after her period. Is that not a normal amount?

After reading this comment section I feel lucky for me and sad for many of you. My wife and I have been together close enough to a decade to not split hairs. We average 4 times a week. We aren't just still attracted to each other, I would say attraction has intensified between us. And we know how to get each other off and both enjoy doing it.

We work well as a team, have defined goals for the future, blah blah blah, it sounds cliche as I type it, but it's true. We like each other. That seems to be uncommon. My coworkers all complain about their spouses and SOs. They also bitch about never getting laid.

Maybe our relationship is different because we were two people who knew themselves pretty well and were up front about who we were from the beginning. Maybe we were just lucky.

I've been tired.

I'll try to do better.

• That last graph makes no sense being joined like that

• Also no sample sizes

Not american, but I am 29, and I don't get who am I supposed to have sex with.

It's the smart phone I reckon. It's hijacked our attention and reward systems to the point where we get enough dopamine from it relative to what we might get from a good bonk.

honestly? I don't have the time. My last two partners got fed up because I couldn't keep up with their expectations. I either working or exhausted from work. I liked having sex and they really wanted me back, but carving time and attention to give got to be too much for me.

Not american but can relate. Sex is available - I'm just not interested in it. Never have been. My hands work just fine.

The largest uptick happens right after the 2008 crisis. Hmm I wonder if we can infer a relation between workload and leisure from this.

Statistically, you should try to date married women instead of married men (when you visit the US, I mean if your plane ever crashes there).

I'm not sure the bar graph is depicting "markedly more sex" if you consider how much easier sex should be for people who definitely have a consistent partner.

That socializing with friends graphs is weird. The drop from 2018 to 2019 is steeper than the drop from 2019 to 2020, when the lockdowns happened.

Of all the garbage going on this really is a footnote and not worthy of focus. Maybe people less sex if under extreme stress. Maybe knowing they can't afford a kid makes them have less sex. Maybe more general acceptance of masturbation and the decrease of religion has made people less dependent on sex for release. Overall, doesn't matter. Not something important compared to the planet lighting on fire, fascism rising, etc.

Hey, it's nice to be ahead of the curve for once. Just... I wish it was in regards to a different subject.

I would have sex but I have to care for my elderly parents. So it’s really difficult to entice sexy time when an obese woman who is barely mobile, will greet you at the front door in her lounge chair. It’s so embarrassing. I just set up hook ups at motels.

Sex recession, also good band name.

Regular sex is boring.

I only do the freaky sex now.

I feel like this gets stupid the more you look into it

Is it because most young men are Republican or right wing ideologies and women have swore to never have sex with men again do to this fact?

End of the world is coming soon~

I'm pumping those numbers up for you rookies.

Ewestile dysfallen.

does this surprise anyone?

not only are we living in a neoliberal world where having sex is "objectifying" and therefore vile (while employment is conveniently not classified as such), there's also an erasure of third spaces where you could even meet other people (outside of work) so if you wanna satisfy your desire for basic human contact, you can only meet people at the workplace, where it is legally forbidden to flirt or make sexual advances.

again, does this surprise anyone?

Why am I in those graphics? I'm not even American, dammit!

Yeah this about tracks. I bet a bunch of happiness and quality of life related stats all moved downward together over the past few decades.

But the sex and time with friends ones are great bottom lines to look at, because spending time with our people is good for us, and our society is not structured with individual personal well being as a priority.

And I say this as an extremely introverted person who loves being a recluse and especially lives having an empty house on the weekends. The effects of good positive relationships are undeniable, and lacking them can leave somebody in a negative feedback loop that really sucks.

I know other comments already went into the "if conservatives want the country to have more babies maybe they should make life conducive to raising a family instead of getting billionaires an 8% CAGR return rather than only 7%" thing, but i've got to acknowledge it here too. We have the whole damn country caught up in the rat race.

Guess LaTour was wrong, people are not having sex and something seems to stop them.

regularity is boring more irregular sex please

I wonder how much this is an actual reduction vs how much is people being more honest than they were before

I cannot fathom going a year without getting laid, think 6 months was my record. How does one not trip and fall on a dick or into some pussy over the course of a year?! I'd be crawling the walls!

Good. Less assbanging means fewer slaves for capitalism to exploit.