This is shown by a second study by Rutgers and Soa Aids Nederland into the influence of the coronavirus crisis on the sexual health of more than 4,000 young people aged 16–20.

Rutgers and Soa Aids Nederland are concerned about the consequences of the coronavirus crisis for young people’s sexual development. Both organisations are calling on teachers to talk to students about dating and sex during Love Week, which is being organised from 8 to 12 February in secondary (special) education and vocational education.

“The restriction of young people’s social contacts is also putting their love lives on hold. As a result, young people have fewer opportunities to experiment with and enjoy sex, even though this is crucial at their age,” explains Rutgers researcher Hanneke de Graaf. “This is particularly worrying because it has already been going on for so long. At the same time, we are seeing young people’s wellbeing decline, which may also be related to the lack of love and sex.”

What do young people themselves say about this?

  • “Corona has quite a big influence on my love life: not meeting nice boys when going out. And therefore also less chance of having a steady relationship, because you can’t really find one online.
  • “I’m sad that I can’t date. I would love to find love; I often feel quite lonely.”
  • “Corona has had a major influence on my love life. At the beginning of this year, I fell in love with a girl. We couldn’t meet up. This connection faded so much that we no longer speak to each other.”

Significantly fewer dates and less sex

Whereas young people previously met their dates mainly at school, through friends and while going out, this has become less possible due to the coronavirus measures. The number of young people who went on dates fell from 51% before corona to 21% during the second lockdown. More young people went on dates during the summer months, but still significantly fewer than before corona (33%). The use of dating apps did not increase during the coronavirus crisis. However, young people who were still dating were more likely to meet their date through a dating app during the second lockdown (26%) than before corona (15%). In addition, the rate of sexual violence among the young people surveyed is relatively high, especially in light of the decline in sexual activity.

Less sexting

Young people also appear to be experimenting less online during the coronavirus crisis than they did previously. The study shows that exchanging sexually suggestive images (sexting) has decreased, both among single young people and among young people with a steady partner. Before corona, 33% of young people had sent a sexually suggestive image at some point; during both lockdowns, this percentage fell to 25%. “For single young people, this may be because they have fewer dates with whom to exchange images. For young people with a steady partner, it may be that they spend more time together and therefore have less need to exchange images online,” explains Hanneke de Graaf.

Sex buddy is the solution for some young people

Just over half of single young people (52%) still had sex during the second lockdown. This percentage is higher than during the first lockdown, when 40% of single young people said they had had sex. Within this group, 60% had sex the last time with a sex buddy: someone they have sex with but do not have a relationship with. Before corona, this was still 28%.

View the research report here.
View the summary of the report here.