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Teens Having Much Less Sex; Tech Could Be To Blame

KCBS_740 SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS/AP) -- Teens are having less sex - a lot less, according to a government survey of risky youth behaviors.

The survey found 41-percent of high school kids said they had ever had sex, down from around 47-percent over much of the last decade. It also found marked declines last year in the proportion of students who said had sex recently, had sex before they were 13, and had four or more partners.

Researchers said they're not certain why the drop occurred, and they aren't sure if it marks a new trend.

"What exactly are the factors that lead to it? Comprehensive sexual health education has been given a lot of credit, but there are a lot of other factors that have been mentioned," Abigali Karlin-Resnick, Executive Director of Health Connected told KCBS.  Health Connected is a Redwood City-based non-profit that teaches sexual health education courses

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the findings Thursday as part of a large national survey conducted every two years. It also found a decrease in illegal drug use and many other risky behaviors.

Karlin-Resnick noticed a possible reason for the decrease in the CDC's report – the percentage of high school students who spend at least three hours a day on a computer has doubled since 2003.

"One of my real concerns working in the sexual health field is because they're so focused on their technology, they're not developing really important social skills about how to interact with each other, totally aside from sexual activity," Karlin-Resnick said.

 

 

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