Survey says over 1 in 4 American adults haven't had sex in over a year
WASHINGTON (TND) — If you're feeling lonely this Valentine's Day, well, you aren't the only one!
It seems Cupid's arrows haven't been hitting Americans as frequently as they once were, and in some cases, they aren't hitting at all.
This is according to the 2021 General Social Survey, which says 26 percent of American adults responded they have not had sex a single time over the past 12 months.
Data in the survey shows this dip in sexual activity for American adults is not something new, and is part of an apparent downward trend.
The last two times the survey was conducted, once in 2018 and once in 2016, the percentage of adults in the United States who said they hadn't had sex in over a year was around 23 percent.
In 2014's survey, the percentage sits at 22 percent. and in 2010's survey the number sits at around 20 percent.
2012's survey is a statistical outlier, with only 3 percent reporting they hadn't had sex in a year, but no other year comes close, nor do they hit single digits, any other time between 1989 and 2021.
Most surveys taken in the 1990s float around 17 to 18 percent reporting they didn't have sex in a year, and most surveys taken in the 2000s range closer to 20 percent.
The survey results show an increase in the number of American adults saying they haven't had sex in a year by almost 10 percent from 1989 to 2021, but 6 percent of that jump happened in only the last 11 years, starting in 2010.
Results from the 2021 General Social Survey also show the number of respondents who say they have sex once a month or less went slightly over 50 percent, the first instance of that happening in at least the past 30 years. In 1989, that number was 35 percent.
This data comes as the Pew Research Center reports Americans are also at a 30-year low for living without a spouse or partner.
Only 62 percent of Americans aged 25 to 54 currently live with a partner or are married, according to a Pew Research Center study. In 1990, that number was 71 percent.
The General Social Survey (GSS) says it is a nationally representative survey of adults in the United States which has been conducted regularly since 1972.
The GSS collects data on contemporary American society in order to monitor and explain trends in opinions, attitudes and behaviors," the GSS says on its website.
