Generation Y. Thailand’s sexual revolution. A study that focuses on the “Generation Y”
population.
Compiled by Mahidol University and Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth) reports that the members of this age group have had an average of
five different sexual partners, as well as had their first sexual experience at the age of 15. (Figures not including Pattaya)
Mahidol University’s Institute for Population and Social Research, and Thai Health Promotion Foundation, compared and contrasted the differences
between people living in urban areas who are Generation X (born between 1961-1981) and Generation Y (born between 1982-2005) — also known as
Millennials.
According to Chalermpol Chamchan, from Mahidol, both men and women who were born in Gen Y tend to have more sexual partners than both genders
in the previous generation. They also engage in sexual activities at a younger age.
What factors in the differences between Gen X and Gen Y is, for Chalermpol, the rapid changes in social context, customs, and environment that they
face, and how each generation deals with these changes.
According to a chart that was created by Thai Health Promotion Foundation, Gen Y, with their ready access to porn in different formats and their peers via
social networks has created an increase in Gen Y’s sexual arousal and access.
Unsafe Sex
What worries Chalermpol is not the fact that people are having sex at a young age, but that they might be having unsafe sex.
“Trying to stop the youngsters from having sex is impossible because the world is moving fast. You can’t catch up with them,” said Chalermpol.
Another stark difference between the two generations is the their thoughts on marriage and children.
Late marriage is becoming a more popular option for Gen Y, studies show that the women tend to marry around the age of 28. Gen Y men get married at
around the age of 29-30.
The desire to have children is decreasing as well, since Millennials seems to see having children as an obstacle that will hinder their freedom,
reports Bangkok Post.
Chalermpol says that 36% of Gen Y women see having children as an obstacle, while 20 percent worry that growing social problems could pose as a
threat to their children’s lives
