Virtual sex
Virtual sex is when two or more people gather together via some form of communications equipment to sexually arouse each other by transmitting sexually explicit images or messages. Virtual sex describes the phenomenon, no matter the communications equipment used. Also called hot chat.
- Cybersex is virtual sex over the Internet, including IRC (Internet Relay Chat), e-mail, instant messaging, chat rooms, role-playing games, etc.
- Phone sex is virtual sex over the telephone. People also have virtual sex via mobile phone text messages. The advent of cell phones with built-in digital cameras has undoubtedly added new dimensions to these activities.
Increases in Internet connectivity, bandwidth availability, and the proliferation of webcams have also had implications for virtual sex enthusiasts. It's increasingly common for these activities to include the exchange of pictures or motion videos. Among the companies that has profited from "sex with webcams" is AdultFriendFinder.com which allows paying customers to actually watch people have live sex or masturbate and at the same time allow themselves to be watched as well. Recently devices (such as the Sinulator) have been introduced and marketed to allow remote-controlled stimulation. Thus the distinctions between real and virtual sex may become increasingly blurred. New online role-playing games such as www.redlightcenter.com are targeting adult audiences into extensive 3D sex simulations. Other devices which have recently hit the market include a Bluetooth dating device called TheToy.
Sociologists have compared virtual sex to being a cyborg because a natural human activity (having sex) is being mediated by technology. Thus, in some sense, technology becomes part of the person's identity.
This is a relatively new phenomenon although there are stories of telegraph operators exchanging sexually explicit messages at the turn of the century.
As with many other aspects of human sexuality this one is controversial, with opponents branding it as a form of pornography and often trying to infer some correlation to pedophilia and/or child pornography. There is not yet any clear consensus about the psychological implications of cybersex. As with other forms of paraphilia cybersex is scrutinized as a possible symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) Meanwhile proponents are quick to point out that any activity can be symptomatic of OCD and that cybersex between or among consenting adults is essentially no different from any other form of erotica, pornography or sexual activity.
Risks
The chief risk of virtual sex is posed by pedophiles attempting to engage children in these activities and, conversely, that police may be posing as juveniles in order to catch them. This is a different issue from child pornography, which involves the exploitation of minors in the production of pornographic material, rather than the exposure of children to such materials.
In any event, the most significant risk posed by virtual sex is in establishing that all involved parties are consenting adults. In The Sims Online, an online role-playing game, one scam was to entrap another player into having virtual sex with a minor and use this for blackmail purposes.
Of course, other forms of harassment and exploitation are possible via any communications medium and there are stories of people who have been victimized in scams by succumbing to their emotions. (see links to Safety Guidelines below).
Other
Virtual Sex also refers to the genre of CD-ROMS and DVDs directed by Joone and released by Digital Playground in which the viewer can "command" a famous porn actress by selecting from a menu of explicit scenes. Virtual Sex with Jenna Jameson is one of the top-selling adult DVDs of all time (according to adultdvdempire.com sales charts).
References
- Deuel, Nancy R. 1996. Our passionate response to virtual reality. Computer-mediated Communication: Linguistic, Social, and Cross-Cultural Perspectives, p. 129-146. Ed. by Susan C. Herring. John Benjamins Publishing Company, Philadelphia.
External links
- Kids in Chat Rooms
- Cyberwatch: Online Dating and Cybersex
- Violet Blue: Bluetooth vibrator, activated by text/SMS.
- 10 Tips for Online Dating Safety
- Cyborgasms: Cybersex Amongst Multiple-selves and Cyborgs in the Narrow-bandwidth Space of American Online Chat Rooms - 1996 dissertation
- Second Life - An online game with a lot of possibilities for animated virtual sex
- Virtual sex through an internet-connected device ("Cumwell" devices)
- SexRobot - A guide to virtual sex and the path to sex robots
- Urbanpsycho - Real cybersex sessions
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