New article out today describing the decline in reported sex amongst Brits. Sourcing research by the British Medical Journal.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-48184848

The choice quotes:

According to the most recent survey:

Less than half (41%) of people aged 16 to 44 have had sex at least once a week in the last month

The proportion reporting no sex in the past month has increased - from 23% to 29.3% among women and from 26% to 29.2% among men between 2001 and 2012

The proportion reporting sex 10 or more times in the past month has fallen - from 20.6% to 13.2% among women and from 20.2% to 14.4% among men between 2001 and 2012

The average number of times that 35 to 44-year-olds reported having sex in the past month fell from four to two among women and from four to three among men

Suggesting that dry spells are really pretty common and affecting both sexes. Combined with the previous US study (which isnt related but can be taken as similar) this would suggest that most of the women who arent having sex in a given month will do so in the remainder of the year (12 month period) but that most of the men will not.

Also being in a relationship seems to be a far better way of maintaining regular sex than being single regardless.

The article attempts to come up with some causes:

Although people under 25 and those currently single were less likely to be sexually active, the steepest declines in sexual frequency were among older married or cohabiting couples.

"It is interesting that those most affected are in their mid-life - the so-called 'sandwich' generation. These are men and women who are often juggling work, childcare and responsibilities to parents who are getting older."

Lead researcher Prof Kaye Wellings said the "sheer pace of modern life" may be a reason why many people are having less sex.

The decline coincides with increasing use of social media and a global recession, which may be other contributing factors.

I think the economics are a little overblown given the times they were taken but the pace of modern life and the overuse of social media are likely to be contributing factors. One would imagine that those towards the older end of the measured group (late 30s and early 40s) would probably be dragging the average down with periods of sexlessness after children are born.

Note that porn use is absent from the suggestions and that people under 25 arent experiencing a significant decrease - they are just less likely to be having sex in general, likely due to a lower rate of being in relationships.

Thoughts?