The sex lives of younger generations are changing as they redefine intimacy

Forget traditional porn, Gen Z are doing things differently nowadays, including listening to porn, rather than watching it. 

The trend of audio porn started during lockdown and has now been embraced by young women, providing a full body experience that allows their imaginations to ‘run wild’ while tuning into physical pleasure.

Anna Richards Founder & CEO of Frolicme.com has explained: ‘The rapid interest in audio porn has allowed us to continue our natural interest in sex for arousal.’

She explained how human’s are hardwired to want to consume sexual content, but it is how we access it that changes; with the brain being the largest sexual organ.  

We’ve already heard that this generation and the millennials before them are less sexually active than young people were 20 years ago, with celibacy among 25 to 34-year-old doubling since 2002. 

Anna told FEMAIL that for tech savvy Gen Z’s it’s simply a few clicks away and available through their choice of media. 

She said: ‘Our smart phones in particular, provide easy and highly accessible listening to such non-visual options of imagery, hot wiring fanciful visions straight to our brains without anyone being any the wiser. 

‘All of a sudden there is no need for NSFW when it’s only our minds that are fueled with fabulous filth.’

Frolicme.com has a range of audio clips, all of which are under 20 minutes and of varying categories including messy love, Netflix and chill, and late night vision

Audio porn really took off during the Covid pandemic years as more of us sought solace and escapism in our technology. 

Female-founded start-ups such as Dipsea, an app of short stories ranging from five to 20 minutes, launched during lockdown as a way for women to focus on their bodies through guided sexual audio. 

Anna explained that in the first six weeks after the initial lockdown in March 2020, she saw a 48 per cent increase in listening figures to her site’s Frolicme’s audio porn stories with 61 per cent being female enjoying the steamy narratives.   

As humans we are naturally interested in sex, as we are biologically programmed to be instinctively aroused by sex. 

Dipsea’s co-founder Gina Gutierrez, based in California, told Vogue how ‘sexuality’ should be in the same wellness category as ‘exercise and meditation’ in order to awaken the senses.

‘Audio erotica gives you the opportunity to feel something more sensuous,’ she said.

‘For some people it’s great [to] have the opportunity to turn off “boss brain” and become a sensual person again.’

Anna delved further into this, she said: ‘So the consumption for sexual content and porn has and always will be high. 

‘But it’s what we consume and how is what changes and audio porn taps into our largest sexual organ, the brain.

‘The rapid interest in audio porn has allowed us to continue our natural interest in sex for arousal. 

‘It removes the negative issues surrounding mass-produced extreme gratuitous porn, the type of porn that is more a turn-off than a turn-on. 

‘Issues often raised of consent, exploitation and violence are not prevalent in audio porn, providing the discreet listener with a safe haven to begin their own sexual exploration.’ 

This is desirable for a more mindful generation who are passionate about paving the way for a more emotionally tuned in way of life. 

Categories include hookups, couples, rough, romantic, off-limits, queer, straight and solo – designed for users to ‘slow down’ and ‘follow the flow’.

The solo category, which allows the user to be the main focus, allows people to log off from their work life and switch into a sensual zone.

In a 10-minute Dipsea solo session titled, ‘Self Touch: Glow Up’, a female narrator guides the user through their body and to tap into unexplored areas.

Gina reveals how the session will focus on the hands and ‘reconnect you with your body’ to understand ‘what sensations feel good’.

‘Masturbation can be like a magic drug it releases endorphins and oxytocin – hormones that make you feel good and calm you down,’ she explains.

During a warm-up exercise a narrator instructs the user to ‘rub your palms together to make heat’ before running the palms along the arms to meet fingertips.

She explains: ‘Run the thumb of each hand across the pads of your fingertips like you a sprinkling salt. Pick a finger that you will use on yourself to start.’

The narrator continues: ‘Imagine those hands aren’t your own. Whose are they? Spend a moment conjuring this fantasy person.’

Anna explained: ‘By listening and experiencing what we find arousing helps to shape our own understanding when it comes to using words or sounds to stimulate our lovers. 

‘This understanding of how to speak intimately to our lovers to be the catalyst at the right moment is the basis of great dirty talk. 

In a 10-minute Dipsea solo session titled, ‘Self Touch: Glow Up’, a female narrator guides the user through their body and to tap into unexplored areas

‘Gen Z are far more likely to enjoy sex-texting their partner or partners, so erotic audio therefore appeals on a much stronger level to be translated into their own personal connections. 

‘Whispered words into your lover’s ear of a sexually intimate nature can be like lighting the fuse during your sexual encounters and quite literally tip them over the edge.’

Gen Z being so attune to the offerings of technology are more likely to connect through their media and partners. 

They have created an easy culture of hook-ups and sexual exploration finding much from just a simple swipe of their screen. 

Apps have abound and technological influence have created instant intimate connections that offer a different style of sexual stimulus. 

Anna reiterated: ‘The influence of Covid and our removal from physical intimacy led to far more interaction through technology and social platforms offered other forms of personal erotic imagery and content to be aroused by.’

Speaking to FEMAIL about the benefits of erotic audio, Jessica Leoni, sex and relationship expert with dating site IllicitEncounters.com, explained how the discreet format allows the ‘imagination to run wild’.

Jessica said: ‘Erotic audiobook apps have exploded in popularity in recent years as more people use their phones to find new ways to explore their sexuality.

‘They are a fantastic way to unlock your desires and many of them are beautifully put together and so much more erotic than visual erotica or porn, because they allow your imagination to run wild.

‘You can listen to them while sitting on the train on the way to work and be having the time of your life, without anyone having a clue what is making you happy.’