

The mystery of the falling teen birth rate - uptown
http://www.vox.com/2014/8/20/5987845/the-mystery-of-the-falling-teen-birth-rate

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pohl
I'm surprised there was no porn hypothesis: that teen males might be going
with a safer and lower-effort substitute for real sex.

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abetusk
Under the section "The Internet Theory", there is a graph labelled "Sexual
Activity of High School Students". The graph shows the percentage teens who
have ever been or are currently sexual active and it has stayed near constant
(at around 40% and 50% resp., presumably there is some overlap).

Whatever theory is proposed, it needs to take into account minimal
contraceptive usage and near constant teen sexual activity.

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slvr
Seems that they are taking for granted that teenagers today are as fertile as
they were 30 years ago. Women are born with all the eggs they will ever have.
Maybe somebody should rule out the introduction of a new drug or chemical that
may sterilize girls while still in the womb. Maybe in 10 years everybody will
be turning up at fertility clinics in droves wondering what's wrong.

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scottlocklin
According to VOX it's the extra 4% of teenagers using the IUD, sex ed, the
crap they put on MTV, the lack of lead in gasoline. Chyeah. I'll stick with
looking at what modern teens look like, and blaming soybeans, and probably be
closer to the mark. Also, the fact that things like VOX exist makes me want to
join the voluntary human extinction movement.

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kolev
No mystery at all! Thank you, Facebook, Zynga, and Snapchat!

