The sex lives of gen Z are of great interest – to politicians, to parents, to influencers and dating app executives and to you, apparently. Are gen Z so lonely they are falling in love with AI robots? Are they forming polycules across the US? Are they having enough sex? Are they having sex at all?
Gen Z is defined roughly as young Americans aged 13 to 28. This generation came of age with information about sex readily available to them, for better (the internet provides both sex education and community) and arguably for worse, too (in 2022, 54% of US teens reported first seeing online pornography at age 13 or younger). They are more likely to embrace non-traditional identities and are progressive on issues such as abortion rights and same-sex marriage – especially gen Z women.
But they have also seen the world shaped by pandemic-era isolation and two Trump presidencies that have celebrated the gutting of reproductive freedoms and LGBTQ+ rights. Sexual conservatives want gen Z to be straight, get married and have children, lots of them – but not to educate themselves about sex or venture across heteronormative boundaries. As a political gender gap emerges between young men and women, the right are urging gen Z men to fulfil their masculine destinies and gen Z women to fall in line, minding the home and hearth.
Amid this tug of war between progressive ideals and stifling sexual conservatism, in the wake of a loneliness-breeding lockdown, gen Z is trying to date, to hook up, to fall in love. It is a lot to grapple with, for those living it and for those trying to understand it.
As part of our sex lives of gen Z series, we gathered 13 data points that, while not nearly conclusive, begin to show what young people think about sex and the partners they’re having it with.
1 Gen Z is the queerest generation
Nearly a quarter of gen Z adults identify as LGBTQ+, compared with 10% of all US adults. Millennials come next, at 15%, with gen X (6%), baby boomers (4%) and the silent generation (2%) trailing far behind. (PRRI, 2024)
2 They are in the middle of a sex recession
The great “sex recession” is the buzzword of the moment if you like making sweeping assumptions about gen Z’s sex lives. Yet, there is something to it: gen Z are having sex less and later than millennials did. (CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2024)
3 Gen Z men are having less sex
A survey conducted by the Kinsey Institute in partnership with the sexual wellness brand Lovehoney found that one in four gen Z adults aged 18 to 24 have not had partnered sex yet. Break that down by gender, and you will find that one in three gen Z men reported never having partnered sex, compared with only one in five gen Z women. (Kinsey Institute + Lovehoney, 2022)
4 Gen Z men are more likely to experience singledom
You could say that gen Z men are grappling with a great “relationship recession” too, based on their likelihood of being single. (Pew Research Center, 2023)
5 Gen Z women are more queer
If women under 30 are more likely to be in a relationship than men under 30, it begs the question: who are they dating? Older men, in spite of some gen Z seeing age gap relationships as exploitative and taboo? Other young women? After all, gen Z women are significantly more likely to identify as LGBTQ+ than gen Z men. (PRRI, 2024)
6 A political chasm is dividing gen Z
There is a growing divide between young men and young women’s political views in the US, as evidenced by the 2024 election between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. More than half of gen Z men (56%) voted for Trump, while a majority of gen Z women turned out for Harris (58%). The election was in many ways shaped by this wide gender gap. In April 2025, young women were far less likely to identify as Republican than young men. (Tufts CIRCLE, 2024; NBC News Stay Tuned Poll, 2025)
7 They do not want to date across the political divide
Gen Z’s gender split along party lines might be affecting its relationship and marriage goals, more than older generations. (NPR/PBS/Marist, 2025)
8 Conservative policy leads to fear of sex
Some women’s sex lives have been adversely affected by recent conservative political triumphs. On social media, the raw emotion of Trump’s election soon made itself clear: talk of a 4B movement spiked in the US as young women discussed boycotting heterosexual marriage, dating, sex and childbirth in protest of institutionalized misogyny and abuse.
The fall of Roe v Wade in 2022 was also devastating to many young women. As reproductive restrictions rippled through the US, nearly 20% of gen Z women said they were afraid of having sex. (Kinsey Institute + Lovehoney, 2022)
The political situation in the US is also having a chilling effect on young LGBTQ+ people: More than a third of LGBTQ+ adults say they do not feel comfortable being open about their identity while dating in 2025. Even more gen Z LGBTQ+ people – 44% of those ages 18 to 24 – said as much. (Kinsey Institute + DatingNews.com, 2025)
9 Gen Z adults eye traditional monogamy
Now on to how gen Z dates: Non-monogamy is on the table, but gen Z does not seem to be as taken with it as other generations – perhaps because some young people have not experienced monogamous relationships yet and yearn for what they do not know.
These figures are from a survey of the users of Feeld, a dating app that specializes in kink, open relationships and other non-traditional dating situations, so take it with a grain of salt … (Kinsey Institute+ Feeld, 2024)
10 Making a move is tricky for gen Z
As dismay with the stagnant situation on dating apps grows, one survey found that 72% of gen Z singles say passivity in making the first move has increased, compared to 63% of all singles. (Match, 2025)
11 One night stands might be going extinct
In 2004, 78% of millennials said their friends commonly have one night stands; just 23% of gen Z said the same 20 years later, in 2024. (YouGov/The Times & Populus, 2025)
12 First date sex can be a no-no
Gen Z is more likely to want long-term relationships and less likely to be into casual sex than millennials or gen X, per one survey. Sex on the first date is a relationship “dealbreaker” for 48% of gen Z. (Kinsey Institute + Lovehoney, 2022)
13 Gen Z daters are into AI
Gen Z is the first generation to have generative AI and chatbot technology available to them early and often in their romantic lives, and it looks as if they are taking advantage – whether for companionship or for dating advice. Of course, users beware. (Match, 2025)
