CYBERSEX: SOCIAL OPPORTUNITY OR SOCIAL ISOLATION? Marsia Vletsa - John Papadimitriou UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS

INTRODUCTION  Online Sexual Activities: the next sexual revolution. (Cooper & Griffin-Shelley, 2002)  Cybersex : real time event  subcategory of OSA  “ When two or more people are engaging in simulated sex talk while online for the purposes of sexual pleasure and may or may not include masturbation by one or more participants ” (Cooper & Griffin-Shelley, 2000)  The user becomes the consumer and the producer at once contributes significantly to the extension of pornography distribution through the internet.

THE RESEARCH  Life on the screen can become a substitute for real life activities  Main target: examine the association between cybersex activity and social life (as expressed through meeting or discussing with new people in real life or on the net, experimenting with new sexual and social experiences and through greater receptivity in meeting new people.)

HYPOTHESIS Social isolation or socialization resulting from cybersex activities can be directly or indirectly linked to social variables such as:  social oppression (stressful situations may lead individuals to use online sex as a temporary escape, distraction, or means of dealing with uncomfortable feelings)  social skills (internet in some cases has the tendency to reinforce pre-existing attitudes such as high or low social skills, shyness and introversion or high socialization skills. )  emotional and psychological state directly related to sexual satisfaction and sexual confidence in real life. (sexual satisfaction and sexual confidence are considered as socializing factors)

HYPOTHESIS UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES CAN CYBERSEX USE BECOME A SOCIALIZING OR ISOLATION FACTOR ?

RESEARCH METHOD PARTICIPANTS:  completed responses  men & women  heterosexuals, homosexuals & bisexuals  internet users  years old,  from urban and rural areas of Greece

RESEARCH METHOD PROCEDURE:  Online questionnaire on a Facebook group for two weeks (2/9- 16/9 2008) “Facebook is a social utility that connects you with the people around you”  Facebook users have a predisposition to online socialization and high online skills (down/up loading photos and videos, sending s, using chats)

RESEARCH METHOD MEASURES:  A 35-item self-report online questionnaire, designed to explore the motivations and implications of cybersex users.  6 sections :  Sociodemographics (sex, age, occupational status, sexual orientation, relationship status)  Cybersex use (time spent, period of engagement and cybersex activities, etc.)  Cybersex addiction  Offline & online sexual experiences (such as sexual satisfaction and confidence in real life compared to the net, etc.)  General offline and online social skills (feelings of uneasy conscience, emotional statement)  Impact on social and sexual life.

RESEARCH METHOD  Through the combination of answers we generated 12 new indicators: 1. cybersex use (hours and period of engagement ) 2. cybersex addiction (“I promised myself stop having cybersex”, “I think about cybersex a lot”) 3. online sexual activity use (maintain erotic web page, visit erotic sites) 4. sex compulsiveness (fetish, group sex, "I think about sex all the time") 5. social oppression (sexual orientation, working hours, “I see cybersex as a temporary escape) 6. sexual dissatisfaction in real life ("I am depressed and worried about the sexual aspects of my life")

RESEARCH METHOD 7. social skills in real life (“Its easy for me to pick up", "There are plenty of people I can rely on when I have problems") 8. online social skills ("I'm shy and I can find partners more easily on the Internet", "I get to know a lot of people in sexual related chats") 9. sexual confidence ("I can always have whoever I want", "I believe I am a better sexual partner than others“) 10. online sexual satisfaction (“cybersex is a good way to share my fantasies”, "I use the Internet to experiment with different aspects of my sexuality) 11. impact on socialization ("Through cybersex I met face to face a lot of people that i still keep in touch“) 12. impact on isolation. ("Since I started having cybersex I have retired into myself“, "Since I engaged in cybersex I don’t have time for my friends“)

Sample (n=1018)

Cybersex users (n=267)

RESULTS: Cybersex users characteristics (n=267)

RESULTS: Total score on “impact on isolation” & “impact on socialization”

RESULTS The last two indicators (“impact on socialization” & “impact on isolation”) were used as filters for the remaining indicators in order to answer our hypothesis question.

Characteristics of socialized users gender? RECREATIONAL USERS

Characteristics of isolated users SEXUAL COMPULSIVES & AT RISK USERS

DISCUSSION- Comparative table

DISCUSSION Under this circumstances cybersex can be a factor for isolation:  Heavy cybersex use + Cybersex addiction + Low social skills + Social oppression + Social compulsiveness = isolation  cybersex is an effective way for social isolated users to satisfy their sexual needs. For that reason they become net-victims.

Thank you for your attention !