Gen Z ‘most likely’ to engage in dangerous sex trend with stark warning issued

Gen Zers feeling frisky have been sent a warning – as it is feared that they're the most likely age group to partake in a worrying sex trend.

It's not even the end of 2025 yet and we already have Pornhub's Year in Review while the fetish of the year was also announced, so there's been a lot to delve into.

Then there are the the interesting differences between the way Gen Z do things when it comes to their sex life. And the new Pornhub data, revealed today (9 December), suggest Gen Z's interests lie outside actual flesh and blood.

That's because its Virtual Reality category was viewed +271% more by them than by other age groups.

Meanwhile, Millennials apparently have more of an interest in Fetish and Role Play, at +152% and +136% more than other groups.

There is something younger people are neglecting when they get intimate (Getty Stock Image)

But as we say, it's Gen Z who were sent a warning last summer due to an 'alarming' decline in condom use.

This is putting the age group, aka those born between 1997 and 2012, at increased risk of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies.

That's right, according to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report from August 2024, condom use among sexually active adolescents has tanked since 2014, with rates of unprotected sex described as 'worryingly high'.

The data was published as part of the multi-part Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, which surveyed more than 242,000 15-year-olds across 42 countries and regions in 2014–2022.

It highlighted that a substantial proportion of sexually active 15-year-olds are engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse and the WHO said this can have 'far-reaching consequences for young people, including unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions and an increased risk of contracting STIs'.

The organisation also outlined how this highlights a lack in sufficient sex education and access to contraceptive methods.

It seems that young people are ditching condoms more than ever before (Getty Stock Image)

On top of this, CBS News reported last October that people aged 15 to 24 made up half of new chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis cases in 2022.

Dr Hans Henri P Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, said at the time: "Age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education remains neglected in many countries, and where it is available, it has increasingly come under attack in recent years on the false premise that it encourages sexual behaviour, when the truth is that equipping young persons with the right knowledge at the right time leads to optimal health outcomes linked to responsible behaviour and choices."

A standout figure from the HBSC report was that the share of sexually active adolescents who used a condom at last intercourse fell from 70% to 61% among boys and 63% to 57% among girls between 2014 and 2022.

Meanwhile, almost a third of adolescents (30%) reported using neither a condom nor the contraceptive pill at last intercourse, a figure that has barely changed since 2018.

If you fall into this category, remember that you can actually get condoms for free and it's better to be safe than sorry – you can use the NHS tool to find your nearest pharmacy or clinic that provides free condoms here.