Who said teens only think about sex and aren’t romantic anymore?
According to a survey by the Pfizer Foundation and Ipsos Health, 91% of adolescents aged 15 to 18 believe that it is not the sex that is important in a love relationship, but the fact of loving and being loved.
The survey made public this Wednesday, May 6 was conducted among 801 adolescents aged 15 to 18 and 802 adults aged 25 and over, to compare the ideas received by adults on the sexuality of adolescents.
Entitled “Good in his head, good in his body”, the survey reveals that the romantic and sexual relationships of adolescents are above all marked by feelings. Indeed, the survey reveals that 74% of 15-18 year olds think that they have to be in love for their first sexual relationship, and that 83% have had their first sexual relationship because they were in love. However, these statements should be qualified when looking at adolescents expressing a low level of well-being. The latter mentioned having sex for the first time to “keep pace” with friends (28%), because they were in a daze (13%) or because their friends had urged them to do so (13%).
Second finding of the study: when it comes to sexuality, teens do not lack seriousness. Thus, for 76% of respondents, it is important to protect themselves from STI (sexually transmitted infections), not to cause pregnancy (66%) and to put condoms during intercourse (65%).
A survey that sheds light on the ideas received by adults
The study also underlines that the so-called “digital native” generation (born with computer technology) is not necessarily glued to their smartphone or their computer when it comes to sexuality. Thus, for information, teens turn first to their circle of friends (69%), then to their parents (52%) and the internet (44%). Health professionals and teachers are more rarely approached on these questions (19 and 18%).
In addition, the study highlights the contrast between what adults think of teenage sexuality and what she really is. While 51% of adults believe that most teens aged 15-18 have already watched a porn movie, only 26% of respondents say they have. Similarly, 47% of adults believe that teens send each other sext (text messages with a sexual connotation). In fact, only 22% of 15-18 year olds do so. The same goes for sextapes (amateur pornographic videos): only 1% of teenagers have ever had one, while 17% of adults think that this practice is common among teenagers.
According to Professor Jeammet, child psychiatrist and president of the Pfizer Foundation, “the gap between imagination and reality expresses a more general concern on the part of parents who no longer control the behavior of the teenager who escapes them. It is normal for them to question themselves and seek to slow down their children, but at the same time young people must be able to express themselves. This game is quite natural: parents lose control, but that does not prevent them from remaining important in the eyes of their older children. This should reassure the most worried parents.
Read also :
Teenagers: how to talk to them about sexuality?
Sexuality: teaching teens how to use condoms properly
Adolescents: sexuality is not sufficiently discussed with the doctor
