Sex has been on our minds since the dawn of time – and there’s more to come! According to recent studies, sexual fantasies are more prevalent in the younger age bracket, with 37% of 18- to 24-year-olds reporting having sexual fantasies daily. This percentage goes down to 28% in the 25- to 29-year-old range, and then even further down to 19% in those aged 40 and older. Sex on the Brain: How Psychology Explains Why Young People Think About It More
The beginning
It’s true that you’re not always in control of what enters your brain; but it seems to be the case that, for many people, thoughts about sex come more naturally than other, more substantive subjects. Research has found that college students have five times as many sexual thoughts as they do about academics or even social activities. And when young people are shown images of people from the same and opposite sex—either fully clothed or engaged in various stages of intimacy—their brains show markedly higher levels of activation to those representing their own gender. If a picture is worth a thousand words, does this say anything about what contemporary society thinks about sex? Sex on the Brain: How Psychology Explains Why Young People Think About It More
Is it normal?
1. These results indicate that sex is an experience we’re taught to be important from a young age, and is normalized as something adults should enjoy in their relationships. 2. But it could also mean that adults are more likely to teach children about sex—meaning kids are exposed to the idea at a younger age and may think about it more often than they might other less taboo subjects like ice cream or money. 3. In any case, this data suggests that sex is an important part of our daily lives, even if we don’t always realize it; with so many sexualized images out there, how could we not think about it constantly?
Should they be worried?
Yes, they should be worried. Research has shown that youth think about sex a lot more than adults because it is new to them and many times because of negative influences like movies, TV shows, etc. Sex can also be addictive at a young age due to hormones, leading people to experiment with sex without thinking about consequences or future risks. This can lead to regrets later in life or sexual assault as well as unintended pregnancies which are obviously harmful and needlessly difficult.
Conclusion
By talking about sex in the media and on television, we’re subconsciously telling young people that it’s a really big deal. So what is your opinion? Is there too much sex in the media or not enough? It’s up to you to decide. Do you think society talks about sex too much? Or do you think society doesn’t talk about it enough? You’ll never know until you voice your opinion!
Self-test answers
The personality profile used in this study can tell us more about how teens think about sex. The profile is based on the big five traits (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness). Neuroticism includes fearfulness and anxiety, for example; Extraversion includes a tendency to be active and talkative; Openness to Experience includes unusual ideas and unconventional behaviour. For each trait we generate subscales for each end of the continuum: low scores are associated with one pole and high scores with another.
Q.&A.
What is your opinion on this topic? What do you think about the reasons for young people thinking about sex more than other age groups?
A study in 2016 published in The Journal of Adolescent Health stated that, In adolescence, there is a dramatic change in one’s evaluation of positive and negative consequences of sex. Teens start thinking about how their actions could potentially affect their social relationships and personal reputations. Furthermore, they also need to take into account the potential emotional side effects as well as physical risks. All these factors weigh heavily on a teen’s decision to have sex or not.