Staff Reports
Dr. Debra Soh stopped by The Megyn Kelly Show to argue something a lot of us have been muttering about: young adults are having far less partnered sex, and a mix of good and bad changes are to blame. In her new book Sextinction, Soh says women’s social and economic gains have led to higher standards for mates. Toss in social media, porn, dating apps and rising anxiety, and you have what many are calling a “sex recession” among Gen Z and millennials.
What Dr. Soh Is Saying — Straightforward and Unpopular
On the Megyn Kelly Show, Dr. Debra Soh lays out a blunt case: when women rise, their expectations rise too. That’s not a moral judgment — it’s common sense. Soh adds that social media algorithms “bombard” young people with content that drives mistrust between the sexes. She warns that modern feminism’s excesses have left some men feeling dismissed, while women, understandably wary, raise the bar for what they’ll accept. Her practical advice? “Get off of these platforms.” If your idea of romance is a curated highlight reel or a swipe-right lottery, don’t be surprised when real life looks less appealing.
The Data Behind the Panic
We aren’t just trading anecdotes. Surveys and studies back up a falling trend in partnered sex for younger cohorts. One survey often cited found roughly one in four Gen Z adults reporting they’ve never had partnered sex. Academic work has also found declines in casual sex among 18–23 year‑olds over the last decade. Meanwhile, analyses of national surveys show a long decline in how often adults report weekly sex. Are these numbers perfect? No — different studies measure things in different ways. Still, the pattern is hard to ignore.
Not One Cause, Many Causes
Experts rightly warn that no single thing explains the sex recession. Economic pressure, living with parents longer, rising anxiety and depression, and more online forms of sexual expression all play a role. Some researchers even point to population-level biological signals, like drops in average testosterone or sperm counts, though that work is complex and debated. Soh’s cultural reading — that higher standards, tech, and porn are major drivers — lines up with a lot of the evidence, even if it won’t satisfy every specialist who wants more nuance.
Why Conservatives Should Pay Attention
This isn’t just prurient curiosity. Lower rates of partnered sex and weakening paths to marriage have big social consequences: fewer stable families, lower birth rates, and more lonely, anxious young people. Conservatives can cheer women’s gains and still call out the forces that hollow out courtship. We should be pro-success and pro-social repair at the same time. Practical steps? Push back on tech that rewards outrage and isolation, promote mental-health resources, restore institutions that encourage in-person community, and yes, coach young men and women on real-life dating skills instead of algorithms. Dr. Soh’s blunt counsel to log off social media is a good place to start.
Dr. Soh is selling a book and making a tour of opinion shows — fair game. But the bigger point stands: society has changed, and if we care about family, intimacy, and common decency, we should study these trends and act. Whether you call it a sex recession, a cultural recalibration, or common sense catching up to technology, the diagnosis deserves more than shrugs and jokes. We need less digital theater and more real-life courage to meet someone face to face.
