Most cultures think that they're young as the hedonistic generation, but it appears that

that stereotype no longer rings true.

In many parts of the world, especially in the West and in East Asia, something unusual

is happening, and this change could have a huge impact on the future shape of society.

According to recent studies, the young are even less sexually active than my 50-something

generation.

In America, for example, a recent general social survey found that almost a quarter of

people were declaring themselves to be celibate, and the trend is especially strong among young

heterosexual men.

28% of this group are found to be celibate compared to only 10% a decade before the massive

shift in behaviour in such a short period.

So why is this happening?

I'm Jerry Barnett, an author and commentator on sexual trends, and this is why are we having

less sex on the BBC World Service.

Sex.

There's no doubt that in many countries we seem to be more open about sex these days,

but not everyone can agree whether this is a positive or a negative.

If you type the word sexualisation into a search engine, you'll find a long list of news

reports, campaigns, articles, podcasts and videos, and most of them will tell you that

teenagers and young adults, especially, are becoming more sexualised, causing behavioural

problems, mental health issues and wider social problems.

But is this really the case?

...