Less kids are having sex

Yep, new CDC study says that 72% of teens are having sex. That number is down from the 78% results received a decade ago.

Many people are celebrating this as a victory for supporters of Abstinence-Only education.

Now, I'd like to know how many kids used contraception in 2010 and in the last decade.

My point is this: How do we know that the new CDC study is a good thing? Abstinence-Only education does not teach teenagers to use contraception. For all we know, 60% of kids that had sex in that recent study could be forgoing contraception, when maybe only 40% of kids in the older study did not use protection.

I first had sex at 14, if it is in any way relevant.

Originally Posted by Tabwald

I first had sex at 14, if it is in any way relevant.

What are the statistics on teen sex in the UK?

I would imagine that more teens in the UK would be using protection than US teens, but I could be wrong.

Originally Posted by Julian Assange

What are the statistics on teen sex in the UK?

I would imagine that more teens in the UK would be using protection than US teens, but I could be wrong.

I have no idea.
But I didn't use protection. It was lesbian sex. No chance of babies there.

This isn't a victory for abstinence only because every study comparing areas that teach abstinence-only vs. a more comprehensive sex ed. show quite clearly that a-o areas have far higher rates of both teen sex and teen pregnancy.

I don't know what this study does mean, but that's sure not it.

It means that... fleshlights > women?

No, *fewer* kids are having sex.

/Grammar Nazi

Do you have a link to the study that the data comes from? It's really hard to make any concrete statements about data (especially data like this) without seeing how all of the information was actually obtained.

There's probably like a 6% increase in straightedge kids. I think that's the reasoning behind this.

Originally Posted by Tabwald

I first had sex at 14, if it is in any way relevant.

so relevant we'll be sending your cool points momentarily.

This link contains the results of the CDC study.

There's additional info in that link that I didn't see from my other source.

The report also looked at same-sex experiences among men and women ages 15 to 44. Women in that age group were more than twice as likely as men to have had sexual contact with someone of the same sex. Almost 13 percent of women have had a same-sex partner, compared with about 5 percent of men.

About 94 percent of women and 96 percent of men identified themselves as being straight, while 1.1 percent of women and 1.7 percent of men said they were gay. More women than men, 3.5 percent compared with 1.1 percent, said they were bisexual.

2.8% of men identified as non-heterosexual, yet 5% of them have had a same-sex partner?

4.6% of women identified as non-heterosexual, and 13% of them have also had a same-sex partner?

Originally Posted by Julian Assange

2.8% of men identified as non-heterosexual, yet 5% of them have had a same-sex partner?

4.6% of women identified as non-heterosexual, and 13% of them have also had a same-sex partner?

Sexual orientation isn't the same as sexual experience.

Originally Posted by Freeq

Sexual orientation isn't the same as sexual experience.

I know that. I just didn't think that a large percentage of people would try to experiment.

lol I suppose people aren't afraid to experiment.

With MTV glorifying teen pregnancy by giving teen mothers their own TV show, I'm surprised it hasn't gone up.

Attributing this to abstinence education is extremely presumptuous. There's dozens of other factors at play, not the least of which is sheer random chance. I find a 6% decline hard to take as particularly indicative of anything; you'd have to form an understanding of not just how many teens are having sex, but why they are or aren't as well.

Originally Posted by Glutexo

With MTV glorifying teen pregnancy by giving teen mothers their own TV show, I'm surprised it hasn't gone up.

Yes, because there is a direct causal relationship between reality television shows and social trends. I mean, duh.

Originally Posted by Glutexo

With MTV glorifying teen pregnancy by giving teen mothers their own TV show, I'm surprised it hasn't gone up.

Actually, with all of the MTV coverage of teen pregnancy/motherhood, I'm far more surprised the number hasn't dropped further.

Believe it or not, teen pregnancy rates at a lot of schools are dropping because the MTV shows tell kids how much your life can suck after having a teen pregnancy. Most kids who don't take the precautions necessary to not get teen pregnant think that, if they do get pregnant, their boyfriends would stick with them forever and that raising a kid wouldn't involve any work. Thank goodness, MTV's crappy little docu-dramas have proven those kids incredibly wrong.

And Eric, in this case, there actually might be. ;3

On another note... Ye gods, I can't find this CDC report *anywhere*! Does anybody anywhere have a link to the actual report, or do you know if it's even been released to the general public yet?

Originally Posted by Glutexo

With MTV glorifying teen pregnancy by giving teen mothers their own TV show, I'm surprised it hasn't gone up.

It hasn't been 9 months yet...

@Andi: ...(same response)

Originally Posted by Jarmihi

It hasn't been 9 months yet...

@Andi: ...(same response)

Those MTV shows have been on for years now, kiddo. <3

And bah, that's closer to it, but it's most likely that the CDC has released the preliminary results without the accompanying study. They do that a lot, unfortunately. :/

Originally Posted by andi

Most kids who don't take the precautions necessary to not get teen pregnant think that, if they do get pregnant, their boyfriends would stick with them forever

Secret Life of the American Teenager likes to show them that fantasy, though.

I wish I was having sex at 14.

I remember being 6 and having a little play wedding with the kid across the street. Afterward, he wanted me to "play sex". Thank God we were caught before anything happened! LOL

So, much to what was likely my parents' embarassment, I had "the talk" really early. Thing is, I never considered abstinence to be some sort of cruel, mean barrier to prevent me from having fun with my later boyfriends. It quite simply made me pickier about guys, something which I'm quite thankful for these days. Nope, I never had sex until I was married and well into my 20's. I never felt fascinated with it, like it was some sort of treat that I couldn't have because I wasn't "adult" enough. It just wasn't my time yet. And you know something? I think I'm happier for it. After all, wouldn't most people like their sexual experiences to be surrounded by happy memories rather than one night stands and stalker ex-boyfriends? I see what happened (and continues to happen) to people I used to know, and I have no regrets. It all goes into the saying, "good things come to those who wait". It just needs to be positioned right.

I work for a utility company, and one rather *ahem* interesting part of the job is angry ex-couples that call in to suspend or disconnect each other's services. You hear so many sad/crazy stories over this. It makes you feel like a bartender. So many dirt-cheap relationships, tossed aside like scrap paper, until these couples have nothing left but divorce lawyers and juvenile pranks.

Maybe it's just one of those forgotten wisdoms of our elders things. I think sex is a choice, but people forget that *who* you have sex with should be the bigger choice.