No sex, please ... we’re too busy surfing the net
Fewer than half of us make love once a week
TIME was when an early night meant the chance for some extra intimacy with our partner.
But in the age of smartphones and iPads we are far too busy catching up on online gossip and social media posts to leave us any time for making love.
A major study has shown there has been a steep decline in our sexual activity since 2001, with fewer than half of Britons now having sex at least once a week.
Researchers place the blame partly on couples taking their digital devices to bed with them, leaving them too distracted to focus on each other.
Scientists analysed ‘sex life’ surveys of 34,000 men and women from 1991, 2001 and 2012.
It found activity between the sheets fell sharply between 2001 and 2012, when the internet started to become widespread.
This could be seen in the number of people who said they’d had no sex at all the previous month. In 2001 it stood at one in four, while a decade later it had risen to one in three.
The steepest decline was among the over-25s and those who were married or living together.
In the 35 to 44 age group, the amount of times women said they had had sex the previous month halved, from four to two. Among men it fell from four times to three.
The study found the ‘sheer pace of modern life’ was leaving people with far less time to themselves – saying that middle-aged couples juggling childcare and work were the worst affected. Half of all women and almost two-thirds of all men said they would like to have more sex.
Researchers said the rising level of sexual frustration was a worry, with regular sexual activity known to be important to well-being and health.
Study author Professor Kaye Wellings, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: ‘Life in the digital age is considerably more complex than in previous eras, the boundary between the private space of home and the public world outside is blurred, and the internet offers considerable scope for diversion.
‘Those most affected are in midlife. These are the cohorts of men and women who, having started their families at older ages than previous generations, are often juggling childcare, work and responsibilities to parents who are getting older.
‘Most people believe that others have more regular sex than they do themselves, so many will find it reassuring they are not out of line.’
nCLEVER men have more children, research has found – overturning previous studies which suggested larger families are the preserve of those with lower IQs.
A study of 780,000 Swedish men found those with the highest IQs had 14 per cent more children than those with the average IQ of 100, while those with the lowest IQs had 42 per cent fewer offspring.
Scientists at Stockholm University say intelligent men are seen as a catch as they tend to be more wealthy and have a higher social status.