Is the youth nowadays really more unrestrained?
Actually, there’s nothing left that doesn’t exist: Everyone does it with everyone, on the Internet podcast moderators tell about their last orgasm, sex is easily ordered through various apps with one click, and porn sites are more accessible than ever before. Actually a nice development in terms of openness and dealing with one’s own sexuality, but what effects does this have in adolescence? Are we already prepared for this openness? The Arte documentary »Venus – Nackte Wahrheiten«, in which young women talk about their sexual experiences, drew my attention. They talk about what is important to them when it comes to choosing the right partner, how they feel about their fears and how they perceive themselves and their bodies. An incredible depth touched me as I looked into the faces of the protagonists, who sincerely talk about their conflicts, growing up and devote themselves completely freely to the subject of lust. Reflected and self-confident, they stand in front of the camera and even drop their covers at the end. But how free can we be in today’s complex world? The Internet has changed our self-image considerably. In addition, our entire cultural history has been shaped almost exclusively by the male view of sexuality, and women only experience their own orgasm relatively late, as they initially regard their own sexual stimulation as secondary. I ask myself the question: Are adolescents nowadays really more promiscuous, less inhibited and also partly more indifferent than many of their parents were at their first sexual experiences? And are they aware of the responsibility towards their body with the associated tender life of the soul?
Back to the past
When I think of my teenage years, I think of innocent attempts to satisfy myself. Films like »Emmanuelle« or »The Blue Lagoon« aroused first erotic emotions. Back then, in the mid-90s, our generation still had no access to the Internet and mobile phones and even the porn movies were comparatively harmless than today, that’s a fact. I was born in 1982, the so-called »Wendekinder«, i.e. children born around 1990, were the first generation to be sexualized primarily through Internet pornography, the proverbial »porn generation«. According to various studies, however, it appears that adolescents have less sex than ever before, a study that surprised me very much. The reason for this lies in sexualization through pornography. Men would rather watch porn than sleep with their girlfriends. More and more young men avoid sex with their partner, but have a pronounced sexual self-activity with stimulation through multimedia Internet pornography. So it is only a matter of the actual act, which is no longer carried out nowadays as it was in the past, because the people rather use their own hands, are more inspired by different pleasurable sensations, and being guided by the diversity of the corresponding films, but that does not mean that young people have less sexual experiences than in the past, rather the exact opposite is the case.
Questions and facts about teen sex
Early sexual intercourse is and remains an exception, but same-sex erotic experiments take place more frequently. Today, the first generation is growing up, which is allowed to do more than it actually wants sexually. While we used to think about where to go for the first time, whether in a friend’s car or home, because it simply wasn’t possible at home, such topics hardly play a role these days. Technically, young people know more than before, but their attitude towards sex is rather conservative. When young people have sex, they increasingly have a steady partner – this applies to boys as well as girls. A need for security instead of a joyful exploring journey with various partners? Or are these just the few voices that reflect themselves more and grow up a lot sooner than we did then? Nowadays relationships are often simply more non-binding, sometimes superficial. Do we hold on to the things deep inside of us that suggest support that make it so difficult for us to really let go?
Accountability
A study shows that young people today are more conscientious about contraception and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. The condom is the most commonly used contraceptive method for both sexes between the ages of 14 and 25, ahead of the pill. The kids acquire their knowledge about sex and contraception via the Internet, while we followed Dr. Sommer’s approaches from the »Bravo« magazine at the time. A comforting prognosis, that is moving further and further away from my title »Generation Gangbang«.
Effects of early sexualization through pornography
But what happens when young people are exposed to the constant provocations of the Internet and can follow techniques of which they have not even dared to dream? If they consume porn as ideal-typical sex and lose their relationship to reality? Then I think it will be difficult to build serious and above all profound ties to real people, because they don’t have a chance to keep up with these kinky pictures and partly don’t even want to. First of all young people have to orientate and find out what they actually want for themselves and what is off the table. Especially inexperienced women, as the documentary has shown me, sometimes fade into an emotional chaos, affected by all the visual influences, the collected know-how of their friends and it seems that it’s mainly about chasing after as many experiences as possible, which does not mean sleeping with several men, but testing different constellations, such as same-sex love and group sex. A generation that is flooded with trendsetting requirements regarding sexuality. They are under pressure and want to keep up, they are overwhelmed and ultimately frustrated because they may not have found out yet how a blowjob is really well done or the vagina with its complexity actually likes to be touched.
Conclusion
Values such as loyalty and commitment remain important, but in some cases they are valued separately from sexual life. Young people find their affirmation in the porn world, because this world has nothing to do with the real world and because they can experiment freely there without having this constant feeling of pressure. My »Generation Gangbang«, or how I imagine them with all the generations that are yet to follow and who find access to disturbing images so easily, apparently remain true to themselves, they reflect much faster, know more about their own sexual desire, try different things out but pay attention to their health.
