Internet sex addiction: what are the risks for women?

Love with eyes and ears

“Virtual sex, in which arousal comes from the contemplation of erotic images combined with interactive communication, is still not fully understood,” says Susan Kraus Witborn, professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts. “Therefore, there are still few studies that focus on women addicted to these forms of Internet activity.”

The study of this area is just beginning, but it can already be said that women are less likely than men to engage in any form of sexual activity on the Web. However, if they become addicted, then, unlike men, they are more interested in chatting than in pornographic images and videos.

This can be largely explained by the fact that for most men, visual images become an important stimulus, while women are more focused on conversations and correspondence.

“Often a woman who does not even see a partner, but is in a sensual, eroticized correspondence with him, can experience a strong attraction, and her fantasy completes what she wants to imagine,” says psychoanalyst Tatyana Mizinova.

Virtual sex as the territory of women

A group of psychologists led by Christian Laer from the University of Duisburg-Essen (Germany) investigated the nature of this addiction in women*.

Scientists started with a basic theory known as the Gratification hypothesis, which suggests that people become addicted to cybersex because their sexual desire is immediately satisfied with it. Unlike those who do not develop such an addiction, they experience arousal from the sexual entertainment that the Internet offers.

The study involved 102 women from 18 to 29 years old. They were divided into three groups depending on the type of online activity: those who were more interested in visual images — pictures and films on the Web, those who preferred interactive forms of Internet communication — sex chats, for example — or in everyday life they didn’t I went to resources with adult content. Testing showed that the older the participants were, the more they were addicted to such virtual content.

The test touched on several other areas: the intensity of desire and the loss of control over time while online; possible psychological and social problems experienced by the participants. The women were also assessed by the number of sexual partners they had in the past six months as well as in the past week.

Before and after the experiment, in which the participants were offered a variety of forms of virtual sex, they measured the intensity of sexual desire and the need for masturbation. It turned out that those who were addicted to cybersex experienced more sexual arousal after browsing the sites than those who had little interest in it.

Women with a high level of addiction had a higher number of sexual partners than those who were not particularly interested in porn sites or did not visit them at all.

At the same time, the former admitted that their sexual life did not bring them satisfaction. And the higher the level of interest and excitement of the participants, the more psychological problems were found in them.

Why is this happening?

Once upon a time, virtual sex was considered to be a male prerogative. But now the interest that women have begun to show largely reflects the new realities.

“It’s getting harder and harder to differentiate between male and female areas of interest,” says Tatyana Mizinova. — In addition, there is a trend towards the transition from real to virtual communication. And the space of the Internet gives a chance to meet someone and the opportunity to voice and share your sexual fantasies with others.”

Stereotypes still strongly influence men who look for partners with a model appearance, and severely limit women, who find it increasingly difficult to live up to the expectations of men. In this situation, virtual reality sometimes becomes the only source of satisfaction.

Tatyana Mizinova says that the emergence of cyberaddiction is associated with two processes: a decrease in interest and susceptibility to previously familiar pleasures (live interaction with a partner) and, in parallel, hyperexcitability in response to certain stimuli (pictures and words on the Internet). “This leads to a narrowing of the range of sources of satisfaction and at the same time creates dependence on them,” she says.

How is this dangerous?

“Someone may argue that such sexual behavior is not at all dangerous — after all, these people do not harm anyone and do not violate anyone’s interests,” says Susan Kraus Whiteborn. “However, it can harm the women themselves.

Laer’s experiment showed that those who are prone to cyber addiction not only experience great psychological problems, but are also more likely to be involved in risky relationships in real life.

They are also more likely than those who are not prone to addiction to respond positively to the test questions: “My sexual fantasies distract me from the implementation of important tasks in my life”, “I do things that go against my inner values”, “I feel feeling very lonely.»

Jungian analyst Lev Khegai believes that the risk for women is associated not only with the danger of meeting a dangerous partner online, but also with the threat of losing physical and mental health.

“Attempts to relieve mental stress through sexual relaxation do not solve problems with the opposite sex,” he says. The problems remain, but the tension builds up again. The pain of loneliness and unfulfillment in relationships intensifies.”

Tatyana Mizinova emphasizes that although women are less prone to addictive behavior than men, their addictions develop more rapidly and are often irreversible.

“Increased interest in cybersex is, in essence, a rejection of mature sexuality and a retreat into a fantasy world,” she says. “The longer and more intense this virtual game goes on, the more difficult it is to establish contacts and maintain relationships with real men.”

And even if dependence does not arise, such an easy and non-binding, at first glance, method of communication can deprive the motivation to search for a real relationship. After all, they require much greater emotional strength and mental involvement from us.

^* L. Christian et al. «Cybersex Addiction in Heterosexual Female Users of Internet Pornography Can Be Explained by Gratification Hypothesis». Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, August 2014.