London - Couples are having less sex because they watch more TV on iPads and laptops in bed.
Cambridge University statistics professor David Spiegelhalter said the huge amount of choice on online streaming services such as Netflix means we are less interested in sex.
‘People think “I’m going to watch the entire second season of Game of Thrones”,’ he said.
‘It’s generally thought now that this mass of connectivity that we now have, the constant checking of our phones, the amount of entertainment going on all at once, compared with just a few years ago when the TV used to close down at half past ten and there was nothing else to do, has affected the frequency of our sex.’
The National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal) found that in 2000 those aged 16 to 44 were having sex around six times a month.
But interviews carried out by Natsal between 2010 and 2012, published in The Lancet journal, revealed this had fallen to just under five times a month – a drop of 20 per cent. The interviews suggested other reasons couples are having less sex include that more people are depressed.
Netflix lets viewers watch TV series and films on demand. It is the UK’s most popular streaming service, with one in four houses having a subscription.
Daily Mail