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Millennials Actually Have Fewer Sexual Partners Than Their Parents Did

by Gillian Fuller

There are few things worse than imagining your parents having sex. Most of us, I think, would prefer to convince ourselves it just didn't ever happen.

Unfortunately, as it turns out, our parents had a lot of sex -- more than we're even having.

Shudder.

Yesterday, Archives of Sexual Behavior published a study of over 33,000 people and their reported sexual behaviors, beliefs and practices.

The findings indicated while Millennials are more accepting of once-taboo sexual practices, like premarital sex (58 percent find nothing wrong with it), we're getting laid less than the generations before us.

Those born in the 1950s and 1960s were found to be the most sexually active, with an average of 11 partners throughout adulthood.

Meanwhile, those born in the 1940s and 1970s averaged about 10 sexual partners, and those born in the 1980s and 1990s (aka us) clock in at a far less impressive eight sexual partners.

Report author Jean Twenge wrote,

Although Millennials are more tolerant of these behaviors, they're not taking that is license to sleep around.

Twenge believes the reason for the Millennial generation's relatively lower number can likely be attributed to an increased awareness of sexually-transmitted diseases, such as HIV, which was first identified in the 1980s.

Long story short: We're better educated than our parents were. That's why we're having less sex.

At least that's what I'll be telling myself while I pray I'll never have to use the words "parent" and "sex" in the same sentence again.

Citations: Exclusive Millennials More Tolerant Of Premarital Sex But Have Fewer Partners (TIME)