‘Sex isn’t the problem — it’s the lack of honesty’: It’s time to rethink hookups

Despite this, casual sex appears to be falling out of fashion; a survey of 2,000 people conducted by Cosmopolitan last year found that 69 per cent of respondents don’t have casual sex. Meanwhile, a survey by The Times earlier this year reported that more than half (62 per cent) of Gen Z don’t commonly have one-night stands. “Our culture has increasingly normalised casual sex, equating it with liberation or empowerment, but this has created a paradox,” says Lottie Passell-Syms, an integrative psychotherapist and psychosexual relationship coach. “While the act might be framed as liberating, it often fails to address deeper psychological needs for connection and meaning.”