When is the last time you got down to it? Because chances are, it was longer ago than your parents, and even your grandparents. A thought we might not want to think about, but it’s sadly fact. A new poll reveals that Gen Z are experiencing a sex recession due to the cost of living.

The survey by Lovehoney shows that one-night stands and casual hookups are becoming a luxury that Gen Z can’t really afford. We’re being priced out of a lot of things, including living away from home, which means we’re missing out on the privacy that previous generations likely took for granted. 

Some 51 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds live in shared arrangements, driving this ‘intimacy crisis,’ with the Institute for Fiscal Studies reporting that just 39 per cent of people aged 34 and under own their own home. And that lack of privacy means less intimacy. 

Those Gen Zers living with family have sex an average of 36 times per year, according to the research, which is a 49 per cent drop from the national average of 68. It also reports that those aged 61 to 79—most likely your nan and grandad’s ages—are having more sex than you. That age bracket is doing it 47 times per year. 

Gen Z are still finding ways to make it work. Because, while partnered sex declines, solo sex increases. Some 42 per cent of people living at home say they masturbate a few times a week or more, compared with a national average of 28 per cent. 

And if Gen Z are looking to have sex, we’re apparently not just doing it in the bedroom. Being inventive when it comes to creating privacy seems to be the key, because having sex in the bathroom has come out as a go-to location for 22 per cent of those answering the survey, with the car as a close second at 18 per cent. 

But why is it that we’re experiencing this sex crisis? Living longer at home is a big driver, with one Gen Zer confirming to The Sun that most people their age can’t afford to rent or buy, “so it’s hard to find anywhere for a bit of peace and quiet.” They added: “My parents both moved out when they were 18 or 19, and my grandparents around the same ages, so they had the freedom to do what they liked. It’s just not the same with our generation, which is pretty unfair, really.”

Others on Reddit are also blaming Covid for damaging social skills, and some say it is the fault of the dating landscape, which makes sense when we’re faced with challenges like ghosting, Banksying, Shrekking, and relationship issues like swag gaps and black cat boyfriends. 

As with all recessions, what goes down must come up. So, as older Gen Zers reach the end of their 20s, perhaps the sex crisis will start to fade away as they move out and finally get the privacy to be intimate that they’ve been missing out on.