[1][2] Examples are sexual activity while casually dating, one-night stands, prostitution or swinging and friends with benefits relationships.
A "hookup" (colloquial American English) is a casual sexual encounter involving physical pleasure without necessarily including emotional bonding or long-term commitment.
Researchers say that what differentiates hooking up from casual sex in previous generations of young people is the "virtual disappearance" of dating, which had been dominant from the postwar period onwards.
[20] As automobile ownership boomed along with the number of options for dating venues, such as movie theaters and jazz halls, parental involvement in the courtship process began to decrease.
[21] Religious and moralist views from the preceding decades also led to public outcry in communities and in the press, and a questioning of what was perceived as changing standards in morality among the younger generation.
[23] Also, young adults of the 1920s considered Victorian-era sexual and moral codes to be oppressive;[citation needed] Bohemianism continued to influence and be embraced by this generation following WWI, and the liberated flapper and vamp emerged as lifestyle personas in popular culture.
[24] The emerging movie industry, through the Pre-Code Hollywood era, furthered the rebellion against Victorian-era morals as films started depicting women owning their sexuality.
The advent of "the pill" and other forms of birth control, the Women's Liberation movement, and the legalization of abortion in many countries are believed to have led to a wider practice of casual sex.
[26][27][28] That is also due in part to the younger generation's rejection of their parents' dating and matrimonial ideals and the rise of college party culture.
A 2021 study attributed the decline to reduced alcohol consumption, increased video gaming, and a larger share of young adults living with their parents.
Other common casual sex venues are dorms, frat houses, bars, dance clubs, cars, and public places or wherever is available at the time.
[35] Collegiate holidays and vacations, especially spring breaks, are times that undergraduates are more likely to purposely seek out casual sexual encounters and experiment with risky behaviors.
[37] A 1995 study of Canadian students who had traveled to Florida for spring break, found the key elements of a spring break vacation to include a group holiday with friends traveling and rooming together, a perpetual party atmosphere, high alcohol consumption, sexually suggestive contests and displays, and the perception that casual sex is common.
Most young adults in this age group believe that their peers are having a higher frequency of casual sex than they actually are, and this is due to vocabulary choice.
[16][17][40] Studies have also linked this common misperception of peer hookup activity to media and pop culture portrayals of casual sexual encounters.
In some Muslim-majority countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan,[46] Afghanistan,[47][48] Iran,[48] Kuwait,[49] Malaysia, Morocco,[50] Oman,[51] Mauritania,[52] United Arab Emirates,[53][54] Sudan,[55] and Yemen,[56] any form of sexual activity outside marriage is illegal.
[citation needed] These can provide a relatively anonymous forum where people who are geographically close but in totally separate work and social circles can make contact.
[61] This is attributed to men, in comparison to women, placing sexual pleasure at a higher level of importance and using social networking sites to fulfill this need.