It’s easy for younger generations to forget that older people still have active sex lives.
A new survey published by the Australians Seniors Insurance Agency has revealed just that, showing over-50s were valuing sex and dating just as much as they did when they were younger.
The survey of 1000 Australians over the age of 50 revealed 90% value love and intimacy as much as their younger days.
One of the more surprising finds of the survey was that one in six over-50s enjoyed “friends with benefits” (a friend who they have a sexual relationship with) instead of a long-term commitment.
Psychologist Bianca Filebor told NewsCorp the way people perceived the sex lives of older people was affecting their dating habits.
“There is this perception that older people don’t have sex and they’re not interested in sexual relationships,” she said.
“For some people interest in sex can decline, but for a lot of people, in fact the majority, sex and sexuality is still really important to them.
“There is some research that those ageist attitudes influence how older people feel about sex and relationships and they do influence how open you can be about the fact you still desire a relationship, whether you understand your own desirers as being normal, and whether you think someone’s wrong with you.”
Outside of sex, the survey revealed nearly a quarter of over-50s would use online dating.
But for those who were single, widowed, divorced or separated it paints a bleaker picture.
80% of over-5os in that category said they weren’t dating anyone and had experienced loneliness in the past, while 90% overall said dating doesn’t get easier when you get older.
However, despite that the majority of over-50s were still socially active both online and in person.
Half of those surveyed had a social media account and more than 40% making new friends along the way.
72% said they were happy with their current social lives, while 53% classed themselves as socially active.