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  • Keeping up with the Joneses in 2015 means an overpriced apartment with a white picket fence, no kids, maybe a dog, and a great sex life.

  • But what does that last one even look like?

  • Hey Joneses, Julia here for DNews You're always looking over the fence to check in on their neighbors.

  • How are they doing?

  • How does my life compare against theirs?

  • Do I have the right TV?

  • The right laptop?

  • But what about what goes on behind closed doors?

  • How will you ever know if you're having enough sex?

  • But like, what's the normal amount of sex to have?

  • It's really hard to know.

  • Studies about sex are mostly about heterosexual couples, and some are even sponsored by some company.

  • And sex surveys probably aren't super accurate because, well, people lie.

  • People in relationships might beef up their bedroom habits.

  • Men might add a few trysts to their list, while women might under-report.

  • So take these results with a grain of salt.

  • One survey from the Durex Condom Company found that 53% of Americans claim to have sex once a week, which is close to what other studies have found.

  • According to the General Social Survey, on average, straight men over 18 have sex 63 times a year, so that's like a little more than once a week.

  • Straight women over 18 say they have a little less sex, 55 times a year.

  • But it depends on a few obvious factors, like age and relationship status.

  • Data from the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior from Indiana University shows that young couples do it like they do on the Discovery Channel more often than single people.

  • But these numbers deal with vaginal sex, and it doesn't take into account the wide variety of sexual behavior.

  • Almost 46% of married men ages 18-24 report having sex 2-3 times a week.

  • Compared to single men their own age, 57% of which haven't had sex in the past year.

  • While men in their late 20s, both married and in relationships, had sex a little less often, a few times a month to once a week.

  • As for women in the same age range, for both partnered and married, pretty similar story. 32% of 18-24 year old women in relationships had sex a few times a week, but for women a little older, they have slightly less sex as well. 48% of married women got it on a few times a month or once a week, but that's still more than their single friends. 50% of single women 18-24, and 43% of single women 25-29 haven't had sex in the past year.

  • And the same goes for queer women in relationships too.

  • One survey from queer women's site Autostraddle found that about 35% of women in relationships had sex a few times a week, while their single friends had less sex.

  • And according to a Match.com's Singles in America study, that's what most men and Not too much.

  • On the other hand, only 15% of men and 12% of women wanted to have sex every day.

  • And that's about how often the happiest couples do the deed, according to some sources, a few times a week.

  • But some researchers, like Acacia Parks, an assistant professor of psychology at Hiram College thinks that happiness leads to more sex, not the other way around.

  • So will more sex make you more happy?

  • Probably not.

  • One study published in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization found that having more sex doesn't make you any happier.

  • In fact, making the beast with two backs more often leave you wanting it less and finding it less enjoyable.

  • Not to mention that fussing about how much sex is right or healthy or normal might make things worse.

  • One study published in the journal Social Indicators Research found that happiness about the amount of getting busy you're doing depends on how much sex you think other people are having.

  • The large study of over 15,000 people found that the more you believe you're keeping up with the Joneses boning next door, the happier you are.

  • The researchers agreed that in general, people were happier the more they had sex.

  • Like those people who were having sex at least 2-3 times a month were 33% more likely to report a higher level of happiness than those who reported having no sex during the last year.

  • And that those who had sex once a week were 44% more likely.

  • And those who had sex frequently, 2-3 times a week, were 55% more likely to report a higher level of happiness.

  • But that level of satisfaction decreased if they thought other people, like those in their peer group, were having more sex than them.

  • So maybe stop asking if you're having enough sex, stop looking over your neighbor's fence and start asking if you're happy.

  • Is your partner happy?

  • It's all about quality over quantity, people.

  • And you know, just you do you.

Keeping up with the Joneses in 2015 means an overpriced apartment with a white picket fence, no kids, maybe a dog, and a great sex life.

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