Do You Need to Give Mom and Dad the Sex Talk?

Most sex-ed is aimed at educating the youngest generations in how to protect against unwanted pregnancies and STDs, but it according to a recent study, it’s baby boomers who really need lessons about the birds and the bees. The largest ever survey of Americans’ sexual behavior, published on October 4 in the Journal of Sexual Medicine (JSM), showed that more adolescents are abstaining from sex, while a large percentage of baby boomers are sexually active. This soothes our fears of sexually inactive old age, but the bad news is that a majority of those over 50 don’t use condoms when having sex with dates or casual acquaintances.

According to the study, 31% of females and 40% of males reported having had sex by the age of 17, down from 49% of females and 46% of males in 2002. Of those sexually active teens, a larger percentage reports having protected sex — 80% of males and 69% of females reported using a condom during their last sexual encounter. Baby boomers, on the other hand, are having more sex into old age, but among those over 50, a majority reported having unprotected casual sex (91% of men over 50 said they didn’t use condoms when having sex with a casual acquaintance, and 70% didn’t use condoms when having sex with someone they’d just met).

The statistics are somewhat surprising, and definitely alarming: While earlier generations haven’t been schooled in the same sex-ed knowledge that younger generations have, unprotected sex is a serious health concern at any age. Are you having protected sex? Take our poll:

via TIME Magazine