Beating off the covid blues

2 minute read


Young people in lockdown, give yourselves a hand!


A British study has found that covid lockdown had a significant impact on young adults’ solitary sexual practices.

No way!

565 adults aged 18–32 were surveyed at the peak of social lockdowns in the UK. Participants were asked to fill out anonymous questionnaires that tracked their masturbation habits, rate of porn consumption and “sexual fantasising”.

We salute these brave participants who put their bodies on the line for science.

The study showed an increase in solitary sexual behaviour across genders, but with an interesting disparity between cisgender men and women in how exactly their horny habits manifested.

While cis men’s consumption of porn increased, cis women reported instead an increase in sexual fantasising, which “could suggest that women experience sex during the social lockdown in a more nuanced way than previously reported”.

The number one reason given by participants for an increase in porn consumption was to “cope with boredom” (37.3%). On the other hand, for those living with families or partners, porn consumption decreased due to a “lack of alone time” (53.1%). Evidently, suffering lockdown in isolation has some advantages.

The authors believe that their findings offer clinical practitioners a better way to treat patients showing signs of pandemic-related stress:

“Patients may feel guilty or ashamed about their sexual fantasies while spending greater time with their families, but the present findings suggest that the association may be normative, so psychoeducation in this area could alleviate emotional distress.”

At the very least, I think we can agree that young people practising radical self love during covid is far healthier than whatever this is:

If you see something arousing, keep it to yourself. For everything else, email felicity@medicalrepublic.com.au.

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