I can’t really begin to say that I have a story to tell that made me think of this topic to blog about, because I simply just came across it as I was searching for something, But I happened to find it very interesting. According to the article from cbsnews, people who have sex four or more times a week make more money. Crazy to think about right? Well, lets explore it further and see if the study is actually accurate.
According to the article written by Michelle Castillo on August 15, 2013,”Having an active sex life may make you happier, healthier and wealthier.” The study was conducted by Nick Drydakis of England who according to cbs is,”an economics lecturer at Angila Ruskin University in Cambridge, England.” In 2008, he studied 7,500 people in Greece(gay and straight), the ages ranged from 26-50 years old. It was an observational study in which Drydakis just collected the information he asked for from the participants. The 7500 participants were asked about their life: health, employment,income, and sexual activity.
The results were as follows, people who had sexually active lifestyles(sex four or more times a week) made 5% more than those who did not. And those who didn’t have sex at all made less than those who did by 3.2%.
I don’t know how accurate we can say this experiment is, and since the percentages are so low it can in largely be due to chance. First off, by giving the study to the participants it leaves room for error, many can lie on these types of questionnaires which would skew the results. Secondly, there are larger factors to consider. People who make more money may be more prone to being in relationships because money often attracts a partner and thus causing them to have a more sexually active lifestyle. Or maybe it can be due to reverse causation and people who make more money have sex more. I do not see how having sex four or more times a week can be directly linked to higher salary, it seems like such a ridiculous thing to say. We have to take into consideration education level also. One may have a sexually active lifestyle but make more than someone who doesn’t simply because they have a better degree than them. The article mentions,”those who had more sex were also more likely to be outgoing and had lower rates of diabetes, heart disease and arthritis,” and thus makes them more money? I am just slightly confused on the facts they are providing to try and prove this true. The study was also conducted only in Greece, maybe people who live in Greece are more sexually active in general or make more money. There are so many things that can be taken into consideration that can say this study is a false. Although I wouldn’t agree that a sexually active lifestyle can make you more money, I would say that it couldn’t hurt. Sex can’t really hurt the amount of money you are making.
In all, I think that the study needs to be done differently. People in different areas need to be tested and a better way of gathering the information from participants needs to be done so we know it is accurate. In this study, there is defiantly room for chance and there can defiantly be other variables leading to a hire salary besides a sexually active lifestyle. They are not saying go have sex because you will make more money, that is not guaranteed at all, the study was just suggesting that with the information they found that was the consensus.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/study-people-who-have-sex-four-or-more-times-a-week-make-more-money/
I think this study is definitely an issue of reverse causation. It is definitely no secret that people of higher socioeconomic status are more often sought after. According to this article in Business Insider, past studies have shown that the more attractive a person is, the more promotions they get and the higher they get paid. “Attractive people earn an average of 3 or 4 percent more than people with below-average looks.” according to Daniel Hamermesh, professor of economics at the University of Texas at Austin. This could potentially be an explanation as to why wealthier people have more sex.
I see a lot of issues with this study here. There are plenty of other reasons besides income that could hurt or help someones sex life in my opinion. Also how do we know that these people weren’t making up how much they were or weren’t having sex? Plenty of holes in this study in my opinion.
I think the experiment you looked at was done incorrectly. People who are wealthier have more sex because it most cases, they can attract other better, have more time, and stress less about important issues like poverty. It’s no secret that athletes, movie stars, and generally wealthy people have more exponentially more sex than people working long hours making minimum wage. It’s also partially due to wealthy people being able to afford clothes that make them look nice and items that show status. In this sort of materialistic economy, these are just the things people need to be considered attractive.
A very big misunderstanding that could happen here is that it says one to two drinks a day. Its not like 60 year olds are going out to clubs and raging like us (over 21 of course) college kids. I have heard in the past that having a glass of red wine a day is actually really healthy and can reduce heart disease by “increasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol) and protecting against artery damage (http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/red-wine/art-20048281).” With that being said, binge drinking at an older age probably isn’t the best idea and that could possibly be misconstrued by some. Overall, interesting topic and something to keep in mind when one day we inevitably reach that age.