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The cybersex (virtual sex) is when stimulation or sexual arousal looking through the online connection (chat, webcam, sending messages with explicit sexual content) without physical contact with another person who is generally unknown, or when Consult sexual material on the web (photos, videos, etc.).
Cybersex addiction mainly affects middle-upper socio-economic classes and, as the expert in sexology assures, “it is more easily installed in an addictive brain and a personality seeking powerful sensations. It is the addiction most denied due to its social rejection ”.
You may also be interested in: Community reinforcement in addictions Index- What is Cybersex
- Evaluation and treatment of cybersex
- Signs of cybersex addiction
What is Cybersex
There is controversy regarding this cybersex disorder: Henkin defends that this disorder does not exist and that the concept of sexual addiction is part of the antisexual obsessions of the culture. Carnes states that the difference between addiction and a normal pattern is that addiction to cybersex manifests neurochemically in a similar way as in other addicts. For a behavior to meet the addiction criteria, according to Schneider, it must have 3 basic components:
- Compulsiveness
- Maintenance of behavior
- Obsession for activity
The reasons why the internet is addictive are: accessibility, anonymity and cost or comfort (Cooper) Delmonico also considers the aspects of isolation, fantasy, anonymity and cost Young however proposes that the factors are anonymity, comfort, mental escape or emotional
Evaluation and treatment of cybersex
Evaluation
Instruments such as "The internet sex Screening Test" are used to evaluate variables related to cybersex addiction. To evaluate internet addiction, the center for Online and Internet Addiction is used. To evaluate general clinical variables, the STAI of Spielbeger, the BDI of Beck, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Questionnaire.
Treatment
Earle and Osborn state that treatment should be multidimensional and adjusted to the characteristics of each case. Putnam highlights the possibility of using the Internet both in the evaluation and in the treatment of this problem.
Signs of cybersex addiction
It is difficult to detect an addiction to cybersex, as there is a tendency to deny the problem and to lie if someone tries to discover it. Some of the following signs could serve as a “clue” to think that there is problem behavior related to Internet sex:
- Mood: Unexpected mood swings for no important reason, irritability if unable to connect… The person may also be emotionally upset by the feeling of shame and guilt they experience when hiding this reprehensible behavior.
- Changes in sleep pattern They stay up late into the morning chatting, for example, causing them to have to sleep during the day. These changes can also lead to difficulties with attention and concentration.
- Social and family isolation. Stop doing leisure activities that were usually done with the family and that were previously pleasant.
- They focus on virtual relationships, where they can "unleash" their fantasies and put real sexual relationships aside. They have less and less sexual relations as a couple and only see cybersex as a source of gratification.
- Serious consequences due to sexual conduct. They can be work (using the professional computer to practice cybersex, behavior that can lead to dismissal), economic, couple, etc.
- Trying to stop the behavior and not being able to do it, even knowing that there will be negative consequences.
- Significant consumption in amount of time to be able to obtain sex through the computer and the need to have contacts more and more frequently.
- Ongoing, anticipatory thoughts about the next connection to the idea of finding sex.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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