One in three young adults believe watching porn has affected what they find sexually desirable in a partner, according to a study.

The same proportion of 18-24-year-olds polled admitted to being "surprised" by what sex was like in real life, having watched porn before becoming sexually active.

A quarter of the 1,000 young people asked said having sex was not as good as they expected.

Of those surveyed, 45 per cent feel they would be judged if they did not know how to take part in a sexual act - or if they did not know what one was.

Four in 10 said they felt more pressure to have sex on Valentine's Day.

A spokesperson for the condom company Durex, which commissioned OnePoll to carry out the survey, said: “The research reveals that among young people there is still a question mark around what sex is or what it should be.

“It poses the question of whether traditional norms, should no longer be the norm.

“Adults should feel more sexually liberated and shouldn’t feel pressure to look a particular way or do certain things.

“We want to challenge the conventions that society, ourselves and others place on us - to normalise what real, good sex is and can be for everyone.”

The poll found more than half of young people felt sex education in schools was "outdated", with one in three saying it was not helpful in navigating modern sexuality.

Six in 10 said they always used protection when having sex, either through condoms, contraceptive pills, IUDs or similar.

However, the same amount also admitted they worry more about running out of money than they do about catching an STI.

More positively, 85 per cent of young adults in the UK said they felt comfortable talking openly about sex with their partner.

But only 33 per cent of those polled were happy to talk with their current partner about how many people they had previously had sex with.

A tenth said they would not disclose their sexual history because they felt the number was too high.

A Durex spokesperson added: “We hope that conversations about sex, STIs, orientation and consent will become more open and acceptable but understand that some young people might still find these types of conversations anxiety inducing and difficult.

“We think there’s a lot of work to do in terms of challenging conventions and enabling conversations about taboos and misconceptions to ensure that everyone feels comfortable talking openly about sex with a partner.​"

SWNS

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