The rate of teenage pregnancy in England and Wales has halved in 16 years and currently stands at its lowest level since records began 50 years ago.

Newly released figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 23 young women under the age of 18 out of every 1,000 became pregnant in 2014, compared with 47 out of 1,000 in 1998. The estimated number of teenage pregnancies fell from 24,306 in 2013 to 22,653 in 2014.

So teenagers appear to be having less unprotected sex. But why?

The impact of technology

One theory put forward to explain the drop is that teenagers are spending more time in their bedrooms on social media and less time meeting up, getting drunk and doing things they may later come to regret.

Prof David Paton, an economist at Nottingham University Business School, told the Telegraph: “It does potentially fit in terms of timing. People [appear to be] spending time at home – rather than sitting at bus stops with a bottle of vodka they are doing it remotely with their friends ... Nobody really knows why we’ve got this sudden change around about 2007 to 2008.”

Clare Murphy, director of external affairs at the abortion provider British Pregnancy Advisory Service (Bpas), added: “The plummeting level of teenage drinking, for example, may be reducing the likelihood of unprotected sex, and teenagers are also increasingly socialising online, limiting the opportunities for sexual activity.”

Four in five social media users said they logged into Facbeook, Twitter LinkedIn Instrgam or Tumbler at least once a day. Photograph: Alamy

Teenage drinking levels

The drop in teenage pregnancies is accompanied by evidence of decreases in drinking and drug-taking in the UK, particularly among those aged 16 to 24. The proportion of young adults who reported that they did not drink alcohol at all increased by more than 40% between 2005 and 2013.

The rise of social media

Ofcom said last year that 16-24-year-olds spent more than 27 hours a week on the internet – almost three times the amount it was in 2005.

Nearly three-quarters of internet users aged 16 and above said they had a social media profile, compared to 22% in 2007.

This was not a trend confined to young people, though. There was a rise in internet use among all age groups, with the use of social media tripling since 2007.

Four in five social media users said they logged into Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram or Tumblr at least once a day, up from 30% in 2007.



The proportion of mobile phone users using instant messaging also rose from 38% in 2013 to 42% in 2014, driven by services such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.

The spike in social media use among young people has even led to the government launching a language guide for parents. Translations include get naked on cam (GNOC) and age, sex, location (ASL) – often used by young people on anonymous chatrooms to disclose their personal details. Other abbreviations included were IWSN (I want sex now) and LMIRL (let’s meet in real life).

The proportion of mobile phone users using instant messaging rose from 38% in 2013 to 42% in 2014. Photograph: imageBroker/Rex/Shutterstock

Elsewhere on Earth

In the US, a report published in November by Common Sense Media found that teenagers spend nine hours a day using media for their enjoyment. That’s more time than they typically spend each day sleeping. Tweens (children aged eight to 12) spend about six hours on average. “I think the sheer volume of media technology that kids are exposed to on a daily basis is mind-boggling,” James Steyer, chief executive officer and founder of Common Sense Media, said.

He added: “It just shows you that these kids live in this massive 24/7 digital media technology world, and it’s shaping every aspect of their life. They spend far more time with media technology than any other thing in their life. This is the dominant intermediary in their life.”

Japanese media, meanwhile, has coined the term sekkusu shinai shokogun, or “celibacy syndrome”, which is considered a looming national catastrophe.

Japan has one of the world’s lowest birth rates, with a population projected to plunge by a further third by 2060. A survey by the Japan Family Planning Association (JFPA) found that 45% of women aged 16-24 “were not interested in or despised sexual contact”. More than a quarter of men felt the same way.

Ai Aoyama, a sex and relationship counsellor in Japan, told the Observer this was because the country was experiencing “a flight from human intimacy”. Other explanations include a growing preoccupation with digital technology.

A sex tutorial at Bletchley Campus College, Milton Keynes. Photograph: Graham Turner/The Guardian

What else could be going on?

Other explanations for the drop in teenage pregnancy rates include improved programmes of sex and relationship education, as well as changing attitudes to young motherhood and the impact of immigration.

Alison Hadley, director of the Teenage Pregnancy Knowledge Exchange at the University of Bedfordshire, said: “This is an extraordinary achievement in addressing a complex public health and inequalities issue affecting the lives of young people and their children. Many people thought the goal was unattainable and that high rates were an intractable part of English life.

“This shows that committed senior leadership, dedicated local practitioners, effective education programmes and easier access to contraception equips young people to make informed choices and brings down rates even in deprived areas.”

Lucy Emmerson, coordinator of the Sex Education Forum, said there was compelling evidence that where good quality sex and relationships education (SRE) was available it led to a reduction in teenage pregnancies.

“Yet nearly a quarter of young people rated the SRE they received at school as bad or very bad,” she said, “and four in 10 young people are unsure where to find their local sexual health clinic. So the education on offer is far from standard.”