Surprise: In the Age of Sexting, Teen Virginity on the Rise

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More sex seems to be happening on television than in teenage bedrooms. Or at least that’s what a federal government survey found of American sexual behavior.

Strangely, in a generation inundated with illicit texts, provocative Facebook photos and celebrity sex tapes, teenage promiscuity isn’t as prevalent as one might expect. According to The National Survey of Family Growth, one quarter of people interviewed in their late teens and early 20s admit to never having had a sexual encounter with another person.  Among 15 to 24-year-olds, 29% of females and 27%  of males said they had no sexual contact. That’s a 5% jump in virginity for both sexes since the survey was last conducted in 2002.

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This behavior is also illustrated in the drop in teen pregnancies since the 1990s. But experts say this 40% reduction isn’t just attributed to the uptake in refraining from sex, but it’s also thanks to increased condom use. “Many, many young people have been very receptive to the message of delaying sexual activity. There’s no doubt about it,” said Bill Albert, chief program officer of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, an advocacy organization in Washington.

With a random sample of 13,495 Americans, ages 15 to 44, that were surveyed from 2006 to 2008, other results from the survey carried out by the Department of Health and Human Services have revealed another secret from the bedroom: most adults are monogamous. (Via Washington Post)

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