According to a rebooted CivicScience survey asking U.S. adults about how the coronavirus pandemic has (or hasn’t) upended their sex lives, 16% of 2,400 surveyed say they’re having sex more often as a result of being at home more. Conversely, 22% say they’re having sex less. Neither is surprising. Seeing your partner more often is just as likely to lead to more intimacy as the toll of the pandemic could leave people feeling anything but erotic.

The survey results are consistent with what we observed in past pulses of the poll.

We did find fascinating correlations that back up the original hypothesis: those who are having sex more are less likely to show grave concern about being out in public spaces right now (so less anxiety about catching COVID-19) than those who report having less sex. 

Stress also plays a major role in how people report the pandemic has affected their sex lives. Those who are having sex less are experiencing stress at higher levels than their counterparts.

With job impacts of the pandemic rampant, from location to having work at all, there are also correlations between the amount of sex people report having and their current job status.  It’s not necessarily what you may think, though. Those who report having the same amount or less sex are more likely to be working remotely than those having more. Those who are having less sex are the most likely to be working but facing reduced hours and pay. There is unsurprisingly not a huge difference in the correlation between amount of sex someone is having and job loss altogether. 

Of course, the financial toll of the pandemic is sharp and there is a correlation between one’s financial situation and their sex life. Those who report having more sex are the most likely to be faring better financially than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic. Conversely, those who are having less sex are most likely to be worse off.

Psychographics aside, life stage also serves up some fascinating information. Those ages 30 to 44 are the most likely to report having more sex, followed by those under the age of 30 by only six percentage points. Also notable is those who are age 65 or older are the least likely to report having sex less as a result of the pandemic.

But How Often?

When specifically tracking how often people report having sex, there was an initial spike when lockdowns hit, but things leveled off throughout 2020. For whatever reason, those who report ‘rarely or never’ having sex is trending significantly upward in the first few weeks of Q1 2021.

Usage of Sex Toys Continues to Grow

It’s not all doom and gloom, specifically when it comes to the sex toy industry.

We are observing a bigger increase in people’s use of sex toys in the most recent data. Thirty-two percent of people who use sex toys say they’re using them more than they did before.

This has only risen since it was first studied at the forefront of lockdowns.

Use of sex toys has grown specifically among both married people and divorced people since initial collection in the pandemic’s early days.

New (Pandemic) Partners

While dating and hooking up is a whole new world amid a global pandemic, it appears 14% of those surveyed, rebased by those in the market for new sexual partners, have found at least one since the COVID-19 crisis began.

Who are these COVID casanovas? 

They’re more likely to be under age 30, by a whole lot. Twenty-eight percent of those surveyed in this age group have reported finding at least one new sexual partner during current times, a rate nearly three times that of the general population.

Relationship Happiness

Of course, relationships are way more than just sex, right? 

Rebased among those coupled up, 22% of respondents report being more satisfied in their current relationship than they were before the pandemic.

However, to the surprise of absolutely no one, it just so happens that the driver of said satisfaction correlates highly with sex.

Sex, though a personal topic that differs in importance from person to person, has certainly been impacted by the pandemic, right alongside mental health and quality of life. CivicScience continuously studies these topics to see how they evolve.