Are we oversaturated sexually? Despite increasingly liberal attitudes towards sex and the instantaneous availability of pornography thanks to the digital world, studies indicate that there is a concerning decline in real-world intimacy. This begs the question: Does sexual liberalisation lead to overall cultural decline?
To get to the root of this disconnect, it’s important to understand consider how biological, cultural, and technological forces intersect to shape our sexual experiences.
One reason for this is that technological advancement has resulted in erotic overstimulation that is desensitising our physical experiences.
Since the 1990s, instead of supplementing traditional methods of physical intimacy, pornography and sex toys have begun to replace them, and this is changing attitudes towards sex overall.
The individualised experience overlooks that human connection and intimacy are not just about physical satisfaction, which ties in with broader concerns about the ability to build authentic human connections.
Gen Z are having sex less than any generation that has come before them, and this suggests a cultural disconnect between men and women.
According to a survey from 2021, 48% of men agreed they would have sex with a robot and given the increased use of AI over the last five years, this percentage has likely increased.
Only this week, an article was released detailing how an AI robot tried to escape a house after being mistreated by a group of adult men. This demonstrates how fantasies have the capacity to extend to real-world harm, a fact which 1 in 4 women in the UK are already painfully aware of.
Is it surprising that we are seeing less sexual contact between men and women in a post- # MeToo era?
It’s also important to consider biological factors and, in particular, the impact that dopamine reliance has in contemporary society.
Addictions are on the rise, and 4.84% of the world population is at high risk of compulsive sexual behaviour.
It may seem like a small percentage from a global perspective, but in the UK, the figure was only slightly lower at 4.69%, corresponding to 1 in 20 people. This suggests that the UK, in particular, is oversexualised.
However, as levels of physical intimacy are decreasing between men and women, this only correlates if individuals are choosing to prioritise intimacy alone.
Personally, I don’t believe that sexual liberalisation leads to cultural decline; it leads to change.
There is definitely a cultural disconnect between men and women that needs to be addressed, but this doesn’t have to be a deterioration.
It should be seen as a way to improve current standards. However, the perception that sexual liberalisation leads to cultural decline stems entirely from the fact that change is a challenge to the status quo. Fewer people are getting married and having children, but humans are still in part fuelled by desire.
The issue is that technological solutions have been introduced to combat communication issues. Maybe it’s just time to get back offline and into the real world.
Written by Leah Marie Cox
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