Slate's ICYMI: Why Are Adults Obsessed with Teen Sex?

On Slates ICYMI podcast, "The Girlboss-ification of Casual Sex" (April 23, 2022), Rachelle and Sarah Marshall attempted to answer "the big question".

Why are adults so obsessed with how much sex teens are having? i.e., "[...] how and why and where are teens fucking?"

Before answering the question, Rachelle described the history behind what she referred to as "The Invention of Teenager" where she related that the teenager is an invention of capitalism:

"It's kinda important to note that teenager as a concept didn't exist until about the 1940s [...] it's all about capitalism baby [...] they became their own distinct social class because at this point teens were another market to access [...] It's kinda all a big marketing scam."

And Rachelle went on to relate that before the invention of the teenager, teen sex wasn't a concern to "adults" because it was normal for teens to have [post-marital] sex and concieve: 

"Before the invention of teenager [...] teen sex wasn't a concern because "[married] children were having children and that was just normal."

18-year-old Olivia Rodrigo

Consequently, the invention of the teenager has been a success, because sex sells to teenagers and teen sex sells. #theallureofnymphets

Marshall said that the Internet gives teens "unthinking access to sexual content" that they are experienced at accessing:

"Once the Internet entered the picture, suddenly it's a whole new rodeo; so, the Internet offers a sexual experience that's entirely unmitigated by geographic boundaries, by parents [...] Before the Internet, teens could only get sexual content via physical objects (e.g., Their dad's Playboy magazine); however, the Internet offers unthinking access to sexual content, which teens are more proficient than [most] of their parents at accessing."

Rachelle shared that she began watching porn as a child and that the extremely graphic but viral Two Girls One Cup was viewed in her middle school band room:

"[...] Two Girls One Cup was passed around in my middle school band room [...] but, like, thinking about Two Girls One Cup in the band room - I'm just like, "Wow, that's cute." Like, I'm sure there's something far worse out there right now, and it's just all normal, and it washes over you."

Gossip Girl

Rachelle and Marshall opined that the plethora of "The Dangers of Online" exposes are full of hyperbole, which Marshall said is a variation of the same fear that came out after teen dramas became "ubiquitous". Marshall referenced: Beverly Hills 90201, Dawson's Creek, Degrassi, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Gossip Girl  and Euphoria. 

Euphoria

And Marshal elaborated:

"These shows all helped build a cultural understanding of what teenagers are doing and that has always included [teen] sex."

In the end, Rachelle and Sarah Marshall didn't (clearly) answer their question: "Why are adults so obsessed with how much sex teens are having? i.e., "[...] how and why and where are teens fucking?" Of course, the answer is the allure of nymphets.