Almost two thirds of the UK’s young adults believe that marriage is still an important institution, as Generation Z takes a more conservative view of sex and relationships than that of their parents.

The London Times’ Generation Z study revealed that only a fifth of 18 to 27-year-olds believed that marriage was “irrelevant”, while a third thought it better for a couple to be married before having children.

The research showed that young adults today were more in favour of marriage than young adults 20 years ago, when almost twice the proportion — 39 per cent — thought marriage to be irrelevant.

The survey found a similar swing regarding ‘one-night-stands’.

Only 23 per cent of 18 to 27-year-olds said their friends commonly had sex on a one-night stand — a steep fall from the 78 per cent of Millennials who said yes to that question 20 years ago.

On the issue of internet pornography, less than half (40 per cent) said that they thought their friends commonly looked at it, compared with 58 per cent 20 years ago.