Our casual hookup culture may promise greater independence and excitement. It's a means to sex without too many (or any) strings attached. But that lack of strings also comes with downsides: the divorce of love and sex means that we're more likely to have painful and awkward sexual experiences. Romance may be harder to come by.

In a 2002 study in which participants were asked their feelings after a casual hookup, 35 percent were "regretful or disappointed," while only 27 percent felt "good or happy." A 2012 Canadian study found that 78 percent of women and 72 percent of men who had "uncommitted sex" reported a history of feeling regret after the encounter. In addition, the American Psychological Association notes that "among a sample of 1,743 individuals who had experienced a one-night stand, Campbell (2008) … found that men had stronger feelings of being 'sorry because they felt they used another person,' whereas women had stronger feelings of 'regret because they felt used.'"

Our bodies are not mere shells: The deference or disregard with which they are treated have a deep impact on our souls and minds.