AXE and Netflix’s ‘Sex Education’ Join Forces to Create the Ultimate Modern Dating Guide for Gen Z
Men’s grooming company AXE recently conducted a survey to uncover the sex and dating habits of Gen Z guys in the U.S. and U.K. and the results have led to an awesome, confidence-boosting collaboration with Netflix’s hit series “Sex Education.”
The study — dubbed The AXE Confidence Crisis — revealed that the generation born in 1995 through 2012 (give or take), has been plagued with a serious lack of mojo when it comes to sex and relationships. In fact, it revealed that 47 percent of teen guys in the U.S. and 49 percent in the U.K. have held back from asking someone out on a date because they didn’t feel confident enough to shoot their shot. Many Gen Z guys also believe that they’re not having as much sex as previous generations (which is impossible, if you ask a millennial).
Overall, the study found that guys feel they don’t have access to the proper resources to find answers about dating, love and sex. It turns out that growing up in a world with Google-powered robots at your fingertips is not conducive to getting all of your questions about emotions and human connection answered. Can’t say we’re surprised there.
AXE’s study also found that 42 percent of U.S. guys and 44 percent of U.K. guys aged 14-24 said they’re more comfortable talking to their crush on social media rather than face-to-face. Sure, it may feel easier to slide into someone’s DMs, but nearly half of the respondents ultimately agreed that the Internet creates way too much pressure to “perform” when it comes to sex and dating. On social media, you can create a version of yourself that’s cool and seemingly flawless, but in the long run, it can be hard to live up to that persona in real life.
Speaking of “performing” on the Internet, 1 in 3 guys surveyed said they turn to pornography for advice on sex. This can be a particularly detrimental place to search for answers about realistic sexual encounters, and it can easily tank both physical and emotional confidence in the bedroom.
“Young men need to understand that the porn they see on the Internet, along with the idealized bodies on social media, are not reality,” said Dr. Jessie Cheung, dermatologist and sexual wellness expert. “You’re not alone — everyone suffers from some anxiety with sex. You may need to wean yourself off the need to watch porn to reach orgasm, but as you practice, you’ll gain more confidence.”
Cheung also warns that overexposure to porn can desensitize the brain to sexual arousal, potentially leading to erectile dysfunction or even “sexual anorexia” — the avoidance of IRL sexual encounters to find release through porn instead.
“Real-life sexual situations may not be ‘perfect,’ but at least it’s real and attainable, and [you] should be participating,” she encourages. “Put down the phones, be present and enjoy sex in the real world!”
All of these potentially harmful ramifications of looking for answers in all the wrong places is the precise reason why AXE has teamed up with “Sex Education” to create the Ultimate Modern Dating Guide. Inspired by the show’s fictional book “Bringing Up Men,” the modern playbook’s intention is to provide an open, honest and often humorous conversation around these sometimes awkward topics of sex and relationships, and to drop some trusted knowledge on this young generation as they come of age in today’s weird, wired dating climate.
Instead of being penned by Jean Millburn, the sex therapist mom played by Gillian Anderson on “Sex Education,” this new guide will be full of real-life stories from real-life guys. You can check out Chapter 1 of the Ultimate Modern Dating Guide in AXE’s Instagram story highlights to see some truly cringeworthy dating moments, and the subsequent advice that Sex Ed’s Otis Millburn (played by Asa Butterfield) gives in an attempt “unawkward the awkward.”
The AXE x “Sex Education” playbook will live exclusively on Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and AXE.com with new chapters released throughout the year.
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