One of the most repeated mantras in the world of
marketing
is that sex sells.
To hook generation Z (young people between 13 and 24 years old) to a television series or a movie, however, this principle may begin to lose validity: adolescents and young people are getting tired of seeing so much sex everywhere. parts.
This is what a recent study, published at the end of 2023, from the Department of Psychology at the University of California (UCLA) suggests, which has revived the discussion about whether or not
zoomers
are more puritanical than their predecessors.
There are already several investigations from prestigious universities that point out how generation Z has a complicated relationship with sex.
A lower interest in casual encounters, gratuitous nudity or the constant debate about everything that has to do with sex are some of the issues that apparently begin to generate burnout.
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The aforementioned report prepared by the Center for Scholars and Storytellers at UCLA, titled
Teens & Screens: Romance or Nomance
, is carried out each year to examine the trends and tastes of young people in the consumption of audiovisual content, entertainment and social networks.
Of the findings of the most recent edition, the most striking is that a significant part of those interviewed (47.5%) consider that sex and romance are excessively prominent in audiovisual media and a majority (51.5% ) would prefer to see more representations of “platonic relationships and friendships.”
In addition to sexual content, young people also showed a significant rejection of romantic relationships in general.
44.3% said that romance is “overused” in the media and 39% look for more aromantic or asexual characters on screen.
“While it is true that teenagers want less sex on television and in movies, what the survey really says is that they want to see more and different types of relationships reflected in the media they see,” commented the founder and director of CSS and study co-author, Yalda T. Uhls.
UCLA has published other studies that also show a decline in sex in other areas of
zoomers
' lives .
The Annual California Health Survey, carried out by this same university, indicated in 2021 that the number of young people between 18 and 30 years old who said they did not have sexual partners in the previous year reached 38%.
In 2011 the same survey showed 22%.
Younger people reject what they consider “disgusting” stereotypes of romantic clichés, such as plots that suggest that relationships are necessary for happiness, that male and female protagonists always end up together romantically, or the abundance of plots centered on love triangles. alvaro gonzalez (Getty Images)
The Guardian
columnist
Barbara Ellen rescues the term “
puriteens
”—a play on words between
purity
and
teens
—which, according to her, is a contrast to the open attitude toward sex that millennials, the previous generation, have. .
“With Generation Z, it is interesting to note how a group so motivated to define itself in terms of sexuality and gender seems to be so reluctant to put it into practice,” writes the columnist.
In a 2022 article in
Psychology Today
, Dr. Justin J. Lehmiller links Gen Z's growing disinterest in sex to increased use of technology and smartphones, parental overprotectiveness, economic uncertainty, and anxiety about the future of the planet.
As distant as these issues may seem, for Lehmiller they are a cause of stress and anxiety that affects libido.
Dr. Justin J. Lehmiller links Generation Z's growing disinterest in sex with the increased use of technology and smartphones.zoranm (Getty Images)
For her part, Esther Gonzalo, health psychologist and coordinator of the Desconect@ psychoeducational program for adolescents, believes that young people do have a “clear interest” in sex, but that this goes beyond just the sexual practice itself and that they The search for an identity and affectivity is preoccupied.
“When you start talking to them and start to see beyond appearances, you see what they are looking for, what they feel comfortable with and what they don't,” explains Gonzalo in a phone call with this newspaper.
The psychologist affirms that the covid-19 pandemic and technology have affected the psychosexual development of young people.
For this reason, Gonzalo highlights the importance of research such as that of
Teens & Screens
that, by focusing on the relationship of young people with the content they consume, elucidates the perception they have of their own sexuality and relationships.
In the responses cited by
Teens & Screens
, the adolescents interviewed are against seeing themselves pigeonholed by their romantic or sexual interests and express interest in seeing “lives like theirs” represented on the screen.
They also reject what they consider “disgusting” stereotypes of romantic clichés, such as plots that suggest that relationships are necessary for happiness, that male and female protagonists always end up together romantically, or the abundance of plots centered on love triangles.
“What they are looking for is to be given the possibility of having a variety with respect to their orientation and their identity,” explains Gonzalo.
More comfortable with solitude
Teens & Screens
coincides in one aspect with other studies on generation Z: the greater taste for solitude.
46% of those interviewed said they were happy alone and did not need a partner.
This coincides with what Gonzalo raises about how it is a generation that tries to get rid of what they consider myths about the need for romance to be happy.
The psychologist points out that this is also because factors such as the pandemic made them more secluded and dependent on technology as a substitute for social contact.
“I would dare say that they are extremely comfortable with the idea of being alone.
The thought of having to expose themselves to social situations probably makes them very uncomfortable,” says the expert.
Young people of generation Z feel extremely comfortable with the idea of being alone, according to psychologist Esther Gonzalo.praetorianphoto (Getty Images)
Although studies on generation Z and sex have been carried out mainly in the United States, Gonzalo's experiences with his adolescent patients coincide with those reported in these investigations.
It is the same reflection on a break by
zoomers
with the predominant ideas about sex and human relationships.