Netflix’s “Sex Education” season 2 just got better. AXE commissioned a study on Gen Z guys’ (UK & US) habits on dating, sex, and attraction, then joined forces with Sex Ed to create the Ultimate Modern Dating Guide – featuring real stories from real guys.

Today’s teens are facing a confidence crisis when it comes to dating. In fact, 47% of U.S. and 49% of U.K. teen guys (14-24) have admitted that they have held back on asking someone out on a date because they didn’t feel confident enough.

AXE’s new research, The AXE Confidence Crisis, reveals that Gen Z is facing a very real barrier when it comes to getting up close and personal, so the brand is working with Netflix’s Sex Education to help teens better navigate these anxiety-provoking situations. Overall, AXE’s data reveals a general lack of knowledge about love, sex and dating with little to no resources for guys to turn to.

Digging further into the study, the brand also uncovered that 42% of U.S. and 44% of U.K. guys aged 14-24 say they feel more comfortable speaking to people they’re attracted to on social media rather than in real life. With the rise in dating apps and sliding into people’s DM’s, dating in the digital age can come with a lot of pressure.

To address these challenges of dating culture, AXE teamed up with the fresh season of the hit teen drama, Sex Education, which is known for tackling the awkward and often taboo subjects that teens wrestle with in high school. The brand will be hijacking Dr. Jean Milburn‘s “Bringing Up Men” book to make the ultimate modern guide for young guys when it comes to dating, sex and masculinity. The new spin on “Bringing Up Men” will inform and inspire teens to find their confidence by unawkarding the awkard and encouraging connecting IRL, making even Otis, Maeve and Eric proud. The book’s chapters will live exclusively on Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and AXE.com and will be released throughout the year.

Each chapter will unveil a number of real-life stories from actual teens and the cringe-worthy situations they’ve encountered while dating. The honesty and relatability of these stories will hopefully release the pressure guys feel by opening up the conversation to help instill confidence for those who have dealt with similar situations. The new dating book will have various chapters that focus on a specific topic related to sex and dating. The topics will be introduced by one of the Sex Education characters and include real teen dating fails like over committing to a goodbye kiss when the date gives a hug to ruining a first kiss with an open-mouthed sneeze and even the dreaded auto-correct fail text.

According to  Caroline Gregory, Global Brand Director, AXE, “Sex, dating and relationships are such a big part of our guys’ lives, it only made sense for us to work with the experts at Sex Education to create hilarious but educational stories to help teens break out of their dating funk and gain the confidence as they navigate this new world of dating.”

AXE x Sex Ed Partnership Details:

• AXE’s research study also found the below stats. As a result of the study, AXE partnered with Sex Education to create original content to spark conversations and help teens navigate today’s dating culture:
  • 45% of U.S. and 50% of U.K. teens agree that the internet creates too much pressure to ‘perform’ when it comes to sex and dating
  • 1 in 3 (31% ) U.S. and (32%) U.K. guys are using pornography to seek advice on sex
  • 1 in 3 (31%) U.S. guys and (33%) of U.K guys aged 18-24 believe they are having less sex than their parents

By inspiring an open conversation around honesty and attraction while injecting some urgently needed humor into the awkwardness surrounding it, AXE is aiming to unawkward the awkward, to help release some of the pressure teens feel when it comes to social situations and dating.