A lot can change in three months, especially when you’re in lockdown during a global pandemic. CivicScience studied sex and relationships when the coronavirus crisis in the U.S. had just started to unfold. To check in on the data, CivicScience re-ran the same polls to see how they have changed since then.
According to the first survey, which tracks sex frequency among U.S. adults, sex frequency has gone down since March. People who say they rarely or never have sex increased by three percentage points, and now rests at 31%. The shift is small but still there.
As it pertains to peoples’ self-reporting about how the pandemic has specifically affected how often they are having sex, we see a corresponding shift to the frequency question. That is: more people are now more likely to report they are having sex the same amount as usual. The percentage of people reporting having more sex has decreased since March and April.
More people are reporting they are just as bothered by their romantic partner as they were before while staying at home.
Those annoyed more are more likely to report having less sex, but it’s interesting that a good portion of them (10%) report having more sex. However, it’s clear: being annoyed more or less correlates with more or less sex.
Overall, those under 25 and over 55 are most likely to report having sex just as much in May. Millennials are faring on opposite sides of the coin and most likely to be having either less OR more sex in May due to the crisis.
Another notable finding is those working from home over-index in reporting having more sex, while those now without work (followed by those working outside of the home) are most likely to report having sex less.
Lastly, in correlations we didn’t even know to look for, those who report having more sex are the ones most likely to report they won’t be comfortable shopping in retail (non-grocery) locations for 4+ months.
As the crisis changes every day, so do our habits and behaviors. CivicScience is tracking this and hundreds of consumer changes as a result of the crisis, and how this all looks for the future.