Our culture has never been more tolerant of sex in just about every permutation.

我們的社會在各方面對性愛從未像現在一樣寬容。

Shameful terms like perversion have given way to cheerful ones like kink.

變態之類的可恥名詞已經轉換成正向的名詞如特殊性癖好。

Polyamory is now a household word.

開放性伴侶關係現在很普遍。

And you can use apps to arrange for casual sex within an hour.

你可以透過手機程式，在一個小時之內就能來場隨意的性愛。

But despite it all, young people are not having more sex, they're having less.

儘管如此，年輕人的性愛次數卻不增反減。

The average adult has gone from having sex 62 times a year to 54 times.

成年人平均每年性愛次數從 62 次下降至 54 次。

In the 90s, the percent of high-school students who reported dating began to drop.

1990 年代時，有在約會的高中學生開始減少。

More people than ever seem to be sitting on the sidelines, romantically speaking.

浪漫地來說，從來沒有這麼多人只坐在場邊觀賽。

Some experts say this may be because people are spending less time in couples.

有些專家認為，這或許跟人們越來越少花時間在經營伴侶關係有關。

At the same time, the share of American men who reported masturbating in a given week doubled, while women more than tripled.

同時，根據報導，美國男性的每週自慰次數加倍，而女性的超過三倍。

Easy access to porn is part of this story, of course.

當然，色情影片的容易取得也是原因之一。

Some people say that the Internet has made it so easy to gratify basic social and sexual needs that there's far less incentive to go out into the real world to satiate these desires.

有些人認為網路讓基本社會和性需求容易滿足，使得人們進入真實世界填滿這些需求的動力越來越小。

One study found that the arrival of broadband Internet access to U.S. counties explained between 7 and 13 percent of the teen birth rate decline.

有項研究表示，寬頻網路在美國各城市的發展解釋了百分之 7 到 13 的青少年出生率下降問題。

Our increasing social media use goes hand in hand with rising rates of anxiety and depression, which also happen to inhibit sexual impulses.

我們越來越常使用的社群媒體和焦慮及憂鬱息息相關，也導致性愛衝動的下降。

Other critics blame online dating for relocating the romantic landscape.

也有其他人批評網路交友重新定義的浪漫的想像。

Over a very short period of time, it's become less acceptable to strike up a conversation in real life without seeming inappropriate or creepy.

短時間之內，要在現實生活中開啟一段對話，會讓人覺得不適當或詭異。

According to one poll, 17 percent of young Americans now believe that a man inviting a woman out for a drink constitutes sexual harassment.

根據某投票結果顯示，百分之 17 的年輕美國人認為男人約女人出去喝酒構成性騷擾。

Romantic pursuit is being cordoned off into a prearranged online space that, for many people, does more to suck up time than create successful matches, leaving them confused and overwhelmed.

浪漫的追求現在被拉起封鎖線，而對很多人來說，比起在網路世界找到真愛，更多時候是在殺時間，這會讓人有些疑惑與不知所措。

Another reason for the decline in sex might be people feeling empowered to say, 'No thanks.'

性愛次數會下降或許也是因為人們認為拒絕對方是被許可的。

In 2012, 30 percent of women said they experienced pain the last time they had vaginal sex.

2012 年時，有百分之 30 的女性表示她們在上一次的性愛經驗感到痛苦。

Most women don't tell their partners about their pain and may have internalized the idea that physical discomfort goes along with being female.

許多女性不會跟伴侶提起他們的疼痛，或許她們已經將女性就該承受這些疼痛的想法內化了。

A healthy sex life is linked to a happy life, and having a partner is a stronger predictor than ever of happiness.

有健康性愛關係的生活才能快樂，而有個伴侶才能確保自己擁有幸福。

But in this modern era, sex seems more fraught and intimacy more elusive.

但在這個現代的社會，性愛似乎令人煩躁、親密關係令人捉摸不定。

In time, perhaps we will collectively rethink some things like the abysmal state of sex education and the dysfunctional relationships so many of us have with our smartphones.

隨著時間過去，我們需要一起重新審視現今性愛教育糟糕的狀態，和透過手機得來，失調的關係。

Finding love and sex should not be anywhere near as difficult as it is today, but for the time being, the sex recession seems more likely to continue than abate.

現今，找到真愛和性愛不該這麼困難，但就目前而言，性愛衰退持續的可能性似乎比減輕的可能性更高。