Friends with Condoms [Sex in the News]

By Leah

We’ve all heard about the negatives that come with having a friend-with-benefits deal. That one friend is likely harboring feelings for the other and that there’s no way to end a FWB relationship and remain friends.

But, have you ever heard anything positive about pals that get down? A super scientific online survey of a whopping 376 people (sarcasm alert) says the positive of friends-with-benefits relationships is increased condom use. The survey by researchers at Harvard, Syracuse and Purdue found that half of the respondents (who were mostly college students) were in a FWB relationship, while the other half were in monogamous relationships.

It’s not really all that surprising that FWB use condoms more. If you’re in a committed relationship, there’s bound to be some trust in there somewhere, and probably a dash of monogamy. If you’re only have sex with one person, you might switch to other methods of birth control (the pill, IUDs, etc.) and ditch the rubbers. The study also found that those in FWB relationships have more sex partners during their lifetime (6.37 on average, in comparison to 1.9).

And because the F in FWB stands for friends, people in the more casual of relationships are more likely to openly discuss their other sexual relationships with their friend.

Condoms and communication go hand-in-hand again.