So you probably already know it by now- and I am sure all of your friends are talking about it- but practicing safe sex is definitely sexier!

A new report was released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), and it shows that the number of teenagers (15-19 years old) who have sex has actually decreased over the past two decades (from about 55% to 42%, collectively), and the number of teens who use condoms during their first time having sex has increased.

The report shows that about 80% of teenage boys who are sexually active use condoms the first time they have sex, and 78% of girls do as well. So what does this mean for you?

If you haven’t had sex yet, and you are not down to “get down”, you are not alone. The old saying “Everyone is doing it” is a myth (less than half of teens are having sex in reality), and this report proves it. Not only that, it is normal and OK to expect your partner to use protection! 

In fact, there are some really great campaigns and organizations out (like Teensource) that encourage condom and birth control use. For example,

• The Great American Condom Campaign (GACC): a contest where college students apply to bring 1,000,000 Trojan condoms to their college campus in order to promote safe sex, and educate their peers on the importance of using protection.
• ONECondoms.com: a site that uses innovative design in their condom manufacturing! One of the coolest aspects of their company is that they hold design contests where you can submit your own design to their condom campaign (similar to Teensource.org’s Condom Cover Art Contest).

ONE Condoms design favorites:

So next time you have sex, use protection- because safer is definitely sexier!