Match.com just released their annual “Singles in America” survey, offering a chilling insight into the Millennial Generation -- those born between the early '80s and 2000 -- and what this demographic thinks about love, sex and relationships.
It’s no secret that Millennials have a much looser – pun intended – view of sex and commitment than prior generations, following a change in social norms that now seem to place higher value on things like “strong, independent women” than on committed long-term relationships or the notion of waiting until marriage to become intimate. But Match’s study of 5,500 random Millennials pulls back the curtain on just how far we’ve traveled down that dead-end road.
For example, Match found that Millennial singles are 48 percent more likely to sleep with a partner right off the bat to see if there’s a “connection” than members of any other generation.
Nearly two out of three millennials say the best place to meet someone is at a bar (church, school and the local soup kitchen didn't crack the top three).
The study also found the Millennial Generation is 48 percent more likely than any other generation to admit they’d had sex with someone before the first date. A full 28 percent – nearly one in three – said they see sex as a way to find out if they actually love someone.
But here are a few data points Match didn’t include in their study. The rate of sexual transmitted diseases has risen to an all-time high. Reported cases of syphilis – which can cause conditions including miscarriage, stillbirth, blindness or stroke – rose by 19 percent between 2014 and 2015, while gonorrhea cases rose by 12.8 percent, and Chlamydia cases are up 5.9 percent.
Also in 2015, another 17,670 African Americans were diagnosed with HIV in the United States, with the vast majority of new cases being young women and gay or bisexual men.
And while divorce rates have dropped to a nearly 40-year low (marriages in the U.S. now have about a 50/50 chance of ending in divorce), TIME noted that the drop is likely due to the fact that younger couples are much more likely to simply live together, making divorce unnecessary.
In a culture in which sex is cheap, marriage is outdated and abortions are available at the drop of a hat, it’s no wonder Match found that a full 57 percent of Millennials admitted they’re lonely.