So how did we end up with hook up culture?

frazzled1
Tue, 30 Sep 2014 15:12:47 +0000

At least one recent academic study (2014) questions the existence of a pervasive hookup culture:

Contrasting 1988–1996 waves of the General Social Survey with 2004–2012 waves, we found respondents from the current era did not report more sexual partners since age 18, more frequent sex, or more partners during the past year than respondents from the earlier era. Sexually active respondents from the current era were more likely than those from the earlier era to report sex with a casual date/pickup or friend, and less likely to report sex with a spouse/regular partner. These modest changes are consistent with cultural shifts in the “scripts” and terminology surrounding sexuality. We find no evidence of substantial changes in sexual behavior that would indicate a new or pervasive pattern of non-relational sex among contemporary college students.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/.U2eo2K1dX2A#.VCrAw3l0zcs

My kids graduated in 2005, 2009, and 2012. We talked about this, of course. They were aware of a few friends who were promiscuous and perhaps a few more in friends-with-benefits situations. But most of their friends went out in groups to parties, danced/flirted/whatever, and wound up with steady significant others by senior year, however ambitious they were.

Extremes make for entertaining television and the kind of journalism that guarantees more viewers, sales and/or clicks.