Young and oversexed no happier: survey

By Randy Shore, CanWest News Service

When you give the numbers a hard look, the truth is just what you've always suspected -- about 20 per cent of the people are having 80 per cent of the sex.

Younger people are piling up large numbers of sexual partners and employing high technology in their search for satisfaction, but in the end they are no happier than the rest of us, according to a B.C. poll.

"It's really just a few people doing the heavy lifting with a small group reporting more than 31 partners," said Ipsos Reid pollster Kyle Braid. "And the number of partners is much higher among those who are not satisfied with their sex life."

Those aged 35 to 54 may be married, but are adventurous about where they have sex and which toys they use, and they have accumulated an impressive average of 17 different sex partners.

For those 55 and up, more than half report not having any sex at all in the past 30 days, though about 14 per cent still have sex more than six times a month.

The Ipsos Reid Survey was commissioned by CanWest News Service about the sex lives of 1,571 people who live in B.C.'s Lower Mainland. All the numbers quoted exclude the three per cent of respondents who say they have never had sex, and are considered accurate within 2.5 percentage points.

About 40 per cent of 18- to 34-year-olds said they have sex six or more times a month and 73 per cent of those in a committed relationship -- but not married -- are having sex at least four times a month.

The people who are doing it the most are in a committed relationship but not yet married, the pollster explained.

"Young people are having a lot of sex," but, he said "What really defines them is their use of technology."

They are three times as likely to have had sex over the Internet and four times more likely to have had phone sex than people over 55. They are more than twice as likely to use porn with a sex partner or indulge in sado-masochism.

Despite all that adventure, this younger demographic is no more likely to report satisfaction with their sex lives than anyone else, Braid said.