Cybersex: Human Sexuality
Cybersex promises to transform sexuality. Discuss.
Human sexuality is an enormous part of a human life and people are constantly faced with sexuality challenges. As the world evolves, ideas and inventions are voiced and created to make life better for everyone and the internet is one of these creations becoming an essential part of many lives all over the world. Cybersex is a growing form of sexual expression over a computer where people get arousal through typed text, video, images and spoken voice (Waskul : 2003). Because cybersex is so wholly person, yet so wholly impersonal creates many interesting qualities in the phenomenon (Waskul: 2003). With the internet rapidly becoming one of the most used tools in the world, it seems only an easy and curiousity driven progression that relationships arousal is experienced via technology. The underlying question of this innovation is whether or not cybersex will transform human sexuality or is it merely a backward step for society?
In an investigation performed of online users, three types of cybersex participants were established. Firstly, there were the recreational users who perform cybersex for curiosity and entertainment. Secondly, the sexual compulsives who use it for sexual desires and lastly the at –risk users who rely on internet interaction, have a definite addiction which leads them to becoming isolated, living solely from this fantasy world (Cooper:2000). Cybersex is a virtual environment with convincing representations that become real through their outcomes (Waskul:2003). The manifestations of cybersex allows people to react to them as if they were real which is how we come to the conclusion of Cybersex having the three types of users, the level of addiction depending on how deeply persuaded someone is. Cybersex used in control is healthy and no different to watching pornography. However, it can grow from transforming human sexuality to being very problematic and as we can tell from above, if not done in
Human sexuality is an enormous part of a human life and people are constantly faced with sexuality challenges. As the world evolves, ideas and inventions are voiced and created to make life better for everyone and the internet is one of these creations becoming an essential part of many lives all over the world. Cybersex is a growing form of sexual expression over a computer where people get arousal through typed text, video, images and spoken voice (Waskul : 2003). Because cybersex is so wholly person, yet so wholly impersonal creates many interesting qualities in the phenomenon (Waskul: 2003). With the internet rapidly becoming one of the most used tools in the world, it seems only an easy and curiousity driven progression that relationships arousal is experienced via technology. The underlying question of this innovation is whether or not cybersex will transform human sexuality or is it merely a backward step for society?
In an investigation performed of online users, three types of cybersex participants were established. Firstly, there were the recreational users who perform cybersex for curiosity and entertainment. Secondly, the sexual compulsives who use it for sexual desires and lastly the at –risk users who rely on internet interaction, have a definite addiction which leads them to becoming isolated, living solely from this fantasy world (Cooper:2000). Cybersex is a virtual environment with convincing representations that become real through their outcomes (Waskul:2003). The manifestations of cybersex allows people to react to them as if they were real which is how we come to the conclusion of Cybersex having the three types of users, the level of addiction depending on how deeply persuaded someone is. Cybersex used in control is healthy and no different to watching pornography. However, it can grow from transforming human sexuality to being very problematic and as we can tell from above, if not done in
References: Castells, Manuel. The Rise of the Network Society. The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Vol. 1. Oxford: Blackwell, 1996. Cybersex: The Dark side of the Force, Edited by Al Cooper, Brunner – Routledge, 1 edition, August 11 2000, 325 Chesnut street, Philadelphia Self-games and Body-play: Personhood in online chat and cybersex, Peter Lang, D Waskul 2003