More and more people say they prefer to have sex before the first date, study finds

More and more singles are cutting right to the chase by having sex first and, if that works out, following it up with a date, a new study has found.

5,500 single men and women from various different age groups participated in the survey conducted by Singles in America. Of those 5,500, 34% said they prefer to have sex before grabbing dinner or drinks. Millennials were the most likely age group to report this behaviour, with 48% saying they like to sample the goods first before committing to an actual date, which requires considerable more time, not to mention money.

“[Millennials] are very career oriented,” Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist who helped develop the survey says, “so sex before the first date could be a sex interview, where they want to know if they want to spend time with this person.”

Sex therapist Kimberly Resnick agrees, saying that people, in general, don’t view sex as intimately as they once did.

“We used to think of sex as you crossed the line now you are in an intimate zone,” Anderson says, “but now sex is almost a given and it’s not the intimate part. The intimate part is getting to know someone and going on a date.”

But don’t go thinking people are only interested interested in getting their rocks off. Over 80% of respondents said they’re looking for love, and millennials, in particular, said they’re looking to get married, with 54% reporting that they hope to start a family, and 35% saying they felt pressured to tie the knot because that’s what their friends are doing.

Other interesting findings from the study:

• Almost 70% of singles said they’re cool with polyamorous love, although only 6% reported actually having practised polyamory.
• 32% of men admitted to sending dick pics at some point in their lives. Interestingly, almost two-thirds of gay men said they’re not turned on by pictures of male genitalia.
• People who identified as Republican were 48% more likely cheat on their partner, compared to Millennials, who were the most faithful respondents.