Changes in Sexual Behavior and Intimate Relationships among Young Adults

Welcome to a higher seminar where the external guest Marie Bergström will give a presentation with the title “Changes in Sexual Behavior and Intimate Relationships among Young Adults: Evidence from the French National Survey ENVIE”.

Language: English
Chair: Ida Öun

Abstract
Sex and intimacy have undergone significant changes in recent years, particularly among young adults. The number of sexual partners has increased, the proportion of individuals identifying as LGBT has grown substantially, and intimate relationships appear more diverse than ever: alongside couples, there are “hookups”, “sex friends”, “friends with benefits”, and “situationships”, among other terms. These findings come from the French ENVIE survey, conducted in 2023 on a representative sample of more than 10,000 individuals aged 18–29 living in France. In this talk, I will present the survey’s analytical framework, highlight its main findings, and discuss possible interpretations of these ongoing transformations of intimacy.

Marie Bergström is a sociologist and researcher at the French Institute for Demographic Studies in Paris (INED). Her work focuses on sexuality, intimate relationships, and singlehood, using a mixed-methods approach that combines large-scale surveys, digital data, and interviews. One of her main projects examines online dating, with results published in The New Laws of Love: Online Dating and the Privatization of Intimacy (Polity Press, 2022). More recently, she led the ENVIE survey, with findings published in the edited volume La sexualité qui vient: Jeunesse et relations intimes après #Metoo (La Découverte, 2025).