Your thinking of "kiss" is correct before (and still now for some people, me included), as people stayed pure. Hence kiss is something romantic, poetic, a gesture of love.
But now in modern era, "sex" is number 1 BECAUSE "too easy" to do it in school, and DOPAMINE hormones during sex is quick-acting drug. And people like "pleasure" compared to a "euphemeral" romantic kiss. And why SO MANY DIVORCES.
And now-now, "sex" is back to frowned upon. Especially "girls" post nudes/doONLYFANS