According to a survey conducted by MSNBC.com, cybersex is mostly used as a form of entertainment. 9,177 people, who had at least one cybersex experience, responded to 59 questions about cybersex. The results of the survey are to be published in the April issue of Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.
Interestingly, the poll results showed a large number of younger females are signing on to adult Web sites. But, unlike men, they are skipping the erotic pictures and heading for the chat rooms. Cooper attributes this to "the 'triple A' of the Internet: access, affordability and anonymity… allowing young adult women to be more comfortable experimenting with their sexuality online than almost anywhere else. They can engage in new relationships without fear."
Some of the other findings were not as surprising. For example, six times as many men pursue online sex as women and most people have lied about their age while visiting an adult site. Gender-bending, though, is admitted to by only one in twenty respondents. While most of the survey's participants claim not to feel guilt about the time spent in cybersex, three out of four keep the amount of time spent in online sex a secret.
Results of the survey indicate most people who indulge in cybersex do so in a recreational manner, spending less than eleven hours a week visiting adult Web sites. What concerns survey author, Alvin Cooper of San Jose Marital Services and Sexuality Centre and also MSNBC "Sexploration" columnist, are the individuals who are "spending more than ten hours a week visiting adult sites." Saying it "is a sign of compulsivity -- in this case, an uncontrollable desire to go to sex sites. Of an estimated 57 million daily Internet users, a gigantic 4,560,000 are expected to become cybersex addicts.
