Are we going to have more sex this summer?

Let the slutty summer begin. If even Het Parool opens with such a headline, then you know we are entering the summer eager and frisky. But is that really the case? According to scientists, that vaxxed and waxxed-season that everyone is talking about might actually be a disappointment.

I was at a vaccination location this week for my first shot and even there it already happened a bit: hundreds of people of the same age came to get a jab and then had to wait and look around for fifteen whole minutes. Now most of them dove into a phone, perhaps to stir up Tinder, but there were also types who were just sitting and watching. I can easily imagine that such a vaccination point could temporarily replace the function of the takeaway meal counter at the supermarket. Just to clarify: my friend and I had a double jab date, so far my slutty summer.

Is there a kernel of truth in that sizzling summer? After all, after the crisis, we also got the roaring twenties. It seems that we exhibit riskier behavior when confronted with mortality. If something has shown us that mortality is something that can also happen to perfectly healthy and young people, it is this pandemic. But does that have so much effect that we massively start hooking up? Professor of social psychology Viren Swami says, just like the director of the Kinsey Institute, that this is unlikely.

Vaxxen and waxxen may feel like the ultimate freedom to do what you want, but after a year of social distancing and stress, researchers think it is an unlikely scenario. I can imagine it, because I even get startled when a vague acquaintance suddenly grabs my arm or pops up right next to me. A study from the Kinsey Institute even shows that people are less eager for one-night stands than before the pandemic. Although it could of course change as summer progresses. In England, they are even fearing an STI spike this season. Just when you’re done with one infection, the trouble starts with the next. You would think that risky behavior has a limit, but apparently that is not the case.

That slutty summer is therefore not guaranteed to happen, but feel free to prove otherwise, of course. Even if it’s just because vaxxed and waxxed sounds so nice.

PS: Read this if you can't handle all those social contacts yet, it could just be the grotsyndrome. 

Source: Wel.nl