Image via Flickr/airgap

This week, the latest reports from the UK’s National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal) were released, and they revealed a treasure trove of intimate data about the country’s bedroom behaviour. Among the many interesting nuggets of information was one idea that got columnists across the country excitedly tapping away on their keyboards with stories about an imminent “bonking crisis:” We’re having less sex, they wrote—and technology’s to blame.

The survey, which is the third of its kind and one of the most detailed studies of sexual behaviour in the world, was conducted from 2010 to 2012 and interviewed 15,162 UK residents aged 16-74 about their sexual habits. One trend it uncovered was that we’re generally having less sex than we were when the last survey was carried out 10 years ago. The average frequency of getting lucky in Britain for people in the 16-44 age bracket is now just under five times a month, down from six in 2001.

If that sounds low, it is. But you have to remember that these results are averaged out from a sample of the whole population, which includes many singletons, as well as people who aren’t sexually active at all for whatever reason (health issues, for instance, proved to play a large role in people’s sex lives). Similarly, the decline in sex reflects broader demographic changes in society; we’re marrying and cohabiting less than we used to, which makes the basic logistics of getting into bed with someone more difficult. That said, even people who lived with their partner reported a lower frequency of sex than the previous studies. We’re just not getting as much as we used to.

Anxiously looking for something to blame other than our own lacklustre libidos, the overwhelming response in the media has been to point the finger at modern technology. In 2001, when the last survey was held, the first iPhone was half a decade away and tablets were still something the doctor prescribed. These devices have since become inextricably integrated in our work and personal lives, and now the general consensus seems to be that they’re taking over our sex lives, in a bad way.

To be clear, the Natsal survey didn’t actually delve into the details of how technology might impact sexual behaviour. This idea seems to have been picked up from comments made by a couple of the researchers in relation to the study. Professor Kaye Wellings of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is quoted across the web as suggesting that our lonely nights might be partly down to a “blurring of the line in the home between the bedroom and outside,” and elaborating, “People [are] taking laptops to bed, iPads, the fact work comes into our home now—there’s no strict divide.” Dr. Cath Mercer from the University College London said something similar: “People have tablets and smartphones and they are taking them into the bedroom, using Twitter and Facebook, answering emails.”

It’s a valid observation, but that’s all it is—one rather vague hypothesis that a couple of researchers commented could be partly the reason for our declining sex rate. That’s after other considerations that the study actually looked at, like the fact the survey was conducted during the recession. I guess it doesn’t make for as good headlines, but the researchers also said that many people reported a hit to their sexual function due to the depression and anxiety associated with unemployment, and that people in employment said they were more busy as a result of the economic downturn.

That’s understandable. You’re desperately searching for a job, facing yet another stack of soul-crushing rejection letters, and you’re not in the mood. Or you’re busy, working late, and when you get home you’re just too tired to get frisky. Hey, you probably haven’t even found time to get a boyfriend/girlfriend in the first place. What I can’t get on board with is the idea that bringing a laptop or smartphone into the bedroom is stopping people having sex.

The fact of the matter is, if your iPhone is affecting your game beneath the sheets, you’re just not doing it right. Are you seriously telling me that the “ping” of an email after work is so utterly compelling and so completely time-consuming that it’s stopping you getting it on at all? You just couldn’t take your eyes off Twitter or Candy Crush Saga for however many minutes you require to do the deed? We love to excuse our own behaviour by the mere existence of the latest gadgets and gizmos, but if our devices are distracting us from getting laid, we only have ourselves to blame.

On the other side of the coin, there are of course many ways technology can in fact enhance one’s sex life. From seeking a partner to finding “inspiration,” there are a whole host of apps and products to update the modern boudoir. If anything, we should be using our devices to have more sex. A US survey earlier this year found, for example, that 20 percent of respondents aged 18 to 34 admitted to using their smartphone during the act. We don’t know what they were using them for, but clearly tech in the bedroom isn’t automatically a barrier to people actually having sex if they’re employing it mid-coitus. 

As with many things in the bedroom, when it comes to technology, it’s all about how you use what you’ve got.