Couples, one-night stands, sexfriends: The varied intimate lives of the under-30s
Initial findings of the Envie survey

The Envie survey is the first in France to focus specifically on the sexuality of the 18–29 age group. It uses an original approach to explore the diversity of respondents’ intimate relationships over the past 12 months. How do young people meet each other? When do they say they are in love? How many experience a ‘crush’? The Envie survey delivers its first findings.

The Envie survey conducted in 2023 on more than 10,000 young people aged 18–29 reveals that four in five young adults had at least one romantic or sexual relationship in the previous 12 months, with 66% reporting a couple relationship, 21% reporting one or more one-night stands and 15% other types of relations, called ‘lasting relations’ (see precise definition in the article), more short-lived than couples but longer than one-night stands, described by the respondents themselves as ‘sexfriends’, ‘hookups’, ‘flirts’, ‘affairs’ etc.

Among the many findings of this initial analysis, we note that:

- 60% of respondents had experienced one type of relationship over the past 12 months, i.e. either one or more couple relationships, one or more one-night stands, or one or more lasting relationships, while 19% had experienced two or all three types; 21% had not experienced any of these relationships in the previous year; 

- ‘One-night stands’ were particularly frequent among people who had separated during the year, and respondents who reported a one-night stand over the previous 12 months generally experienced several; 

- Sexual norms are interpreted differently by gender, but also in some cases by social background: the proportion of young adults – women especially – reporting a one-night stand or a lasting relationship in the previous 12 months increases progressively with social class;

- Dating apps are now widely used to find a partner but are by no means the most common way of meeting. 

The study also looks at projected relationships and unfulfilled desire, and studies the nature of romantic feelings in the different types of relationships. Overall, it reveals that young adults’ intimate lives are rich and diverse, contrary to the clichéd notions that ‘the couple is dead’ or that a prudish and cautious ‘no sex’ generation is emerging.

Published on: 19/06/2024