If to consider that work, shopping, food and sex are the main social addictions in human life, then sex on the Internet can be considered, perhaps, one of the most quickly growing attachments of our days. The reason for that is, most likely, that from him special type of dependence develops. So, in any case, Francisco Alonso-Fernandez – the president of the European society of social psychology and the head of the department of the Complutense University of Madrid believes. According to this expert, about 7% of Internet users conceived a liking for cybersex, that is – more than 12 million people around the world. Or, in other words, from 20 million users of a world wide web registered on all planet, more than a half practice so called cybersex using live cams.
Three factors
The scientist explains that the attachment to having sex such can be explained with three factors: “Availability – that is an opportunity to be engaged in him 24 hours a day in millions of the most various places; the openness which is defined by legality and low cost of similar services and anonymity because allows the Internet user to conceal the real name and protects him from risk to catch some disease, sexually transmitted”.
Though practice of live cyber-sex, thanks to a possibility of receiving the whole sea of information and a possibility of communication with many other users of network, has also the positive sides, some from conceived a liking for similar services become the real addicts ready to devote to the favorite occupation more than 15 hours a week whereas rational time is limited three-four hours.
“At more than 50% of the Internet users having sex in network, excessive practice resulted in dependence. It happens when the fan of cyber-sex devotes to this occupation from 15 to 20 hours in a week and his behavior is defined by four characteristics. The first, a large number of times is found for this occupation. The second, there is impulsive desire to be engaged in cyber-sex when the person loses over himself control and shows irritation at impossibility of receiving desirable pleasure. The third, general feeling sick before the inducing impulse and the satisfaction following after the act together with sense of guilt and a low self-assessment. And, at last, systematic repetition of all three above-mentioned points, and the inveterate consumer of cyber-sex cam shows negative attitude to the environment: houses, in society and even at work”, – explains behavior of network addicts of Alonso-Fernández, engaged in preparation of the new edition of the book “Social Attachments”.
Addicted to cybersex
Some American scientists believe that two thirds of the Internet users who conceived a liking for cyber-sex have no sexual contacts out of network, and the remained third combines the attachment to sex in a world wide web with other sexual addictions: pornography of different types, phone sex, visit of prostitutes and voyeurism.
According to Alonso-Fernández, it is possible to give the characteristic to those people who are especially subject to effect of drug under the name cybersex. Such characteristics five: certain deviations in behavior; other dependences (sexual or chemical), depression, stressful situations or condition of alarm. “People whose behavior approaches under one of the listed characteristics are especially subject to danger to conceive a liking for cybersex”, – the scientist says.
At men the attachment to sex usually begins between 25 and 35 years; at women slightly earlier. Among the homosexual boys who conceived a liking for gay cybersex in percentage terms it is more, than among the rest of the population. Both men, and the women using cams to get sexual needs met, first of all, the students or people with the higher education spending much time in network. The reason is that most of them don’t have time or are shy to interact with other people with goal of getting sex.
Reasoning and ways of getting cybersex
According to Alonso-Fernández, such predisposition to cybersex often is explained by existence of some sexual problem in real life: “lack of normal sexual contacts, dysfunction of genitals, dissatisfaction so at 30% which conceived a liking in webcam sex, the similar dependence arises in real life”.
There are various ways of cybersex, but the most widespread is a viewing of the nude cam girls with the subsequent masturbation. Nearly two thirds which conceived a liking for cybersex limit the sex life to sex in network while the remained third tries to establish personal connection with the contacts on the Internet: sends letters, calls by telephone and makes appointment.
Alonso-Fernández specifies that 50% of the fans of virtual sex having the permanent partner in real sexual life begin to lose any interest in the partner over time and break off the relations. “If the partner of the person who conceived a liking for cybersex learns about attachment of the friend or girlfriend, then he is covered by the whole storm of emotions: mix of shame, humiliation and foulness from the postponed treachery. When the person suffering from sexual exhaustion begins to be engaged in cybersex, its inability to sexual life extends only to the real partner and concentrates on the computer”.
According to the head of the department of Complutense University of Madrid, treatment of addiction to cybersex begins with use of psychotropic drugs. Medical treatment is followed by consultations and a total ban of work at the computer and uses of the Internet.