In many ways, the world seems to have turned a corner in recent years. People today are more comfortable openly discussing sex and sexual issues. The print media has played a big part in contributing to the comfort of talking about sex. Major magazines, both men's and women's, compete at the newsstand with headlines that boast the latest techniques and secrets. Talk shows dealing with relationships and sex are among the hottest on TV.

Thanks to modern technology, you can access sexual information and erotic material via your computer in the privacy of your own home. On the other hand, technology has also allowed us (for better or worse) to let down our guard and open up more quickly to people we barely know. Computers are blamed for a host of relationship problems, from fueling online porn habits or obsessions to facilitating casual hookups and extramarital affairs.

Then there's the fast pace of our modern lives. Many of us are so busy that we often shortchange our personal lives, neglecting our partners as well as our own needs and desires.

Lifestyle Options

Today, more than ever, there are many diverse ways of being in a relationship:

• Marriage

• Celibacy

• Celibate marriage

• Marriage without living together

• Living together without marriage

• Monogamous relationship without marriage

• Serial monogamy (being married or in a committed relationship multiple times)

• Being single but sexually active

• Homosexual relationship

• Polygamous marriage

Westerners in particular are becoming more tolerant of diverse partnership models as the population grows and we see daily news about different groups that struggle with freedom of choice. Though some religions struggle with questions of the acceptance of nontraditional relationships, changes are occurring even in that arena.

More Information and Education

Perhaps one of the biggest changes in our modern approach to sex is the wealth of information, education, and discussion that is accessible and available. People today are much better informed about things like sexual techniques, sexual health, impotence and libido problems, and so on. And anything we don't know, we can probably easily find out. Young people today also tend to be much better informed about sex. Most kids today have at least a basic knowledge about how to protect themselves from pregnancy and STDs.