Casual about sex?
For most, it's just good fun. "Time pass," as teenage respondents to a survey described casual sex. After all, what's a little intimacy between buds, right?
Yet, when a recent study conducted by the Family Planning Association of India came out yesterday, it made people go bug-eyed with interest.
Studied activity
Varun Bhatnagar, 19, is very open to the idea of casual sex and has a very interesting reason for it. "Yep, I'd do it! Because it's healthy and a very different experience. It's also fun!" he says with a chuckle.
And a lot of teens would probably agree with him. According to the study, students who had sex with friends and others had risen to 16 per cent in 2008 up from 11 per cent in 2004. Also, in recent years 36 per cent of boys and 11 per cent of girls have admitted to being sexually active.
Are they worrying figures? Psychologist Shartia Shah thinks so. "The statistics are definitely distressing. I have kids, and I have parents coming to me with concerns that their kids are sexually active," she says.
Decoding the psyche of a teen, Dr Shah adds, "Teens have casual sex with their friends because they can relate better to people their own age. They feel they're forming a bond or connection with the other person. Such relationships can go from platonic to sexual or visa versa and there's at least a chance of intimacy her, which is missing when one goes to a commercial sex work."
Yet, Dr Raj Brahmbhatt, sexologist, isn't too worried about the numbers. "It's a trend, yes, but you can't generalise. The study just focuses on parts of Maharashtra and Mumbai. However, the study is definitely an eye opener, as classmates especially, are willing to participate in casual sex."
Alarm bells
But what's really got experts in a tizzy is that part of the report that indicates that sex is largely unprotected.
Prerna, a 19-year-old student from a suburban college, says she "knows a lot of people," who enjoy having 'friends with benefits'. "That's the big thing in college now. They like living on the edge."
But, she says, one of the biggest reasons her friends are comfortable with casual sex is because of the availability of emergency contraceptives and of course, The Pill.
But what about safe sex? To hear her tell it, her friends believe they're safe as long as they're on the Pill. But what almost everyone forgets is Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), which that can be very harmful.
"It's the most worrying part of the study. They don't realise that the morning pills that are advertised on TV are for emergency purposes only. They only protect against pregnancy. We need to make the kids understand that they need to protect themselves against diseases too," says Dr Brahmbhatt.
Brahmbhatt talks of a high percentage of teens contracting STDs and going to "shady places" to get abortions. "If abortions are not done right, they could end up scarring the girl for life."
He believes that the study gives us a good idea of the goings-on in a college kid's life and says the study should be used to educate them about the responsibility that comes with the act.
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