Sexuality among Students in the Internet Age

The sexual and relationship behaviour of young, academically educated men and women is the focal point of the current study. Commissioned by the BZgA, the Institut für Sexualforschung und Forensische Psyiatrie at the University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf is examining the reproductive behaviour as well as the effects of the ‘new media’ on the sexual socialization of young, highly educated adults.

The dominant pattern regarding the organization of steady relationships among young adults is that of serial monogamy. It is sexuality, emotional ties, intimacy, communication and experiential quality, not institutions, formal responsibilities or material dependence, that hold relationships among students together. The goal of this qualitative interview study is to obtain well-founded data about how students socially organize sexuality and relationships and what value beliefs and expectations they have with regard to sexual relationships.


One focal point of the study is reproductive behaviour. The group of students is on the one hand a group that is sexually particularly active, on the other hand the desire to have children and family planning are often still deferred because of the long duration of their education. For this reason safe contraception is a particularly important subject for this age group. The interviews are to explore how students organize contraception in and out of steady relationships, what experiences this group has with the desire to have children, contraceptive failures and the worry of unplanned pregnancies and what ideas and desires regarding the reconcilability of work and family shape the life planning of these future academics.


A second focus lies on sex-related internet use. This use now plays a significant role among young adults of all educational backgrounds and opens up new dimensions of dealing with sexual arousal, fantasies and communication in and out of steady relationships. The central questions here are what significance the internet has on meeting romantic or sexual partners, what influence the consumption of pornography has on students’ sexual behaviour, and what role the new media have on the organization of sexuality and intimacy in steady relationships.