The vast majority of 20yr olds report having had sexual intercourse, even though just over half are currently in a romantic relationship, according to an ESRI study.

The survey of more than 5,000 20-year-olds and their parents, carried out by the Economic and Social Research Institute, offers an insight into the lives of young people in Ireland.

The findings, based on the long-term Growing Up In Ireland study, show just over half (57%) of 20-year-olds were in a romantic relationship of some kind at the time of the survey, but most (84%) of the young adults had had sexual intercourse, with just over half becoming sexually active between the ages of 17/18 and 20.

While most (85%) answered that a condom would be the most effective method of preventing STDs, just a third of sexually active 20-year-olds used condoms on every occasion of sexual intercourse.

Over half of all 20-year-olds said they typically spent over three hours online per day, with over 20% usually spending five hours or more online. Over 90% of all 20-year-olds used the internet for social media, watching video content, searching for information, and messaging and calling people.

Outside of these core internet activities, there were marked gender differences in some categories of online activity, with young men more likely to use it for gaming or pornography (64% versus 13% women).

Considering behaviours used to manage their online presence, over a quarter (26%) had posted information they later regretted.