The case for casual sex

Hookup culture is corrupting an entire generation, or so I'm told. Emotional apathy, fleeting connection, the collapse of commitment: All roads lead back to casual sex.

It's the favorite villain of hand-wringing adults, who point to noncommittal hookups as evidence that young people have traded traditional courtship for instant gratification. Even among students themselves, casual sex has become a scapegoat — the reason someone can't find love, the explanation for why the dating scene feels so bleak, the easiest excuse when a situationship goes up in flames.