Cybersex addiction?

May 6, 2000 8:35 PM

Cybersex addiction? Here's an AP wire story that's a fairly thin re-write of a BBC story on people becoming addicted to cybersex. Some interesting facts -- it's almost 50/50 women (how come *I* can never find them? :-). Fairly balanced, if you read the whole thing, but still a bit inflammatory.
posted by baylink (7 comments total)

So there's two topics: cybersex addiction itself, and the inability of the press these days to treat sex in a non-inflammatory fashion.

(Three if you count "where are all these cybersex-addicted women, anyway?".)
posted by baylink at 8:36 PM on May 6, 2000

15% have looked at porn websites?

does this mean even once? because, well, i would have figured almost everyone has at least peeked...
posted by sugarfish at 9:12 PM on May 6, 2000

I'll tell you the cure for cybersex
(kind of an answer to topic question #3, sorta)....

Are you SURE that person on the other side of that computer is a "chick"?

I once set up my AOL profile to read "female", just as a goof... amazing how that Instant Messenger was buzzing all over the screen with guys lookin' for love....

Of course they were *all* actors, athletes, and underwear models.

I think they were lying.... the nerve of them.
posted by EricBrooksDotCom at 9:35 PM on May 6, 2000

oh oh oh, uh , eh eh, hmm
posted by corpse at 9:52 PM on May 6, 2000

I find the estimate "15% of people using the internet have checked out porn sites" to be a complete crock.

I was at a party a while ago (with mostly non-internet people there), and someone alluded to "endless popup windows you can't close like the ones you see on porn sites" and everyone in the room nodded in understanding. I remember being surprised at the time, because it was like 100% of the people there had experienced it.
posted by mathowie at 11:22 PM on May 6, 2000

Here's another article, with a link to the cybersex addiction checklist.

Online sex addiction can be an especial problem for those who are geographically isolated. I live on a remote outpost with five other straight guys. You wouldn't want to know what my score on that test would've been during the long, cold Atlantic winter. :p

I can also tell you that cyber-addicted women are mostly single moms in their early 30s. Bored, horny and stuck at home, with a sleeping kid and a fast connection.
posted by philip at 11:23 PM on May 6, 2000

Indeed, Philip.

Oh, and Matt? Turn off Javascript before smut-surfing.

"Smut! Give me smut and nothing but!
A dirty novel I can't shut,
if it's uncut, and unsubt-
le."

BTW: did you realize that shutting off JS in NS4.7 disables CSS as well? I hadn't realized you were formatting Meta in that until I had that happen to me.

Um, oh, oops. :-}
posted by baylink at 8:40 AM on May 7, 2000