Fewer Teens Are Having Sex These Days
Fewer kids today are losing their virginity during their teenage years than they were just a decade ago, according to the latest report on teenagers' sexual activity from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The chart above, from the report, shows how for both males and females, the percentage of teens aged 15 to 19 who've had sex at least once in their lives has steadily declined since 1988. Between 1971 and 1988, that percentage had been increasing. So despite the best efforts of American Pie and Skins, why are a majority of teens not sexing it up as much like they were in the Reagan years? Though the CDC itself doesn't try to answer that question directly in the report, a plurality of the kids they surveyed give "religion or morals" as why they're waiting. "Among teenagers who had never had sex, 41% of females and 31% of males chose this as their main reason for not having had sex."
