Abstract

Online sexual activity (OSA) has developed with the Internet age and is on the leading edge of the next sexual revolution (Cooper & Griffin-Shelley, 2002). As with all human endeavors, there are beneficial and deleterious elements to Internet sexuality, a few of which are highlighted in this article. Fueled by the "Triple-A-Engine" of accessibility, affordability and anonymity, the opportunities for enhancing sexuality are as exciting as the potential problems are concerning. The Internet allows for a level of sexual education and information dissemination previously unmatched. It also provides a fertile field for sexually disenfranchised and alternative communities. Online relationships offer previously unheard of vistas, as well as the possibilities of dangerous entrapments. Finally, clinicians are increasingly seeing a variety of forms of online sexual problems (OSP) and online sexual compulsivity (OSC), and therefore need to be able to recognize and effectively deal with these problems.

Key Words: sexuality, Internet, Disenfranchised

**********

Much has been written about sexuality and the Internet in the last decade (Cooper, 2002; Griffin-Shelley, 2002). This brief overview highlights the wealth and diversity of sexual activity on the Internet. Our goal is to educate clinicians about the range of ways the Internet is impacting and influencing sexuality and sexual practices in our society.

Online Sexual Activity (O.S.A.)

In the USA there are over 221 million Internet users representing about 76 percent of the population (Nielsen Netratings, 2002). The Internet itself is growing at an incredible speed with over 2.4 billion web pages available (Google, 2002). According to one estimate, 15 to 20 percent of these Internet users have engaged in some form of online sexual activity (Cooper, Delmonico, & Burg, 2000). The term sex is the most frequently searched topic on the Internet (Cyber India Online Limited, 2002).

Online Sexual Activity (OSA) is defined as use of the Internet (including text, audio, graphic files) for any activity that involves sexuality, whether for purposes of recreation, entertainment, exploration, support, education, commerce, or finding and/or meeting sexual or romantic partners. OSA includes cyber sex (i.e., sexual activity via the net), Online Sexual Problems (OSP) (i.e., OSA has lead to difficulties, usually feeling out-of-control and/or having others complain about the activity), and Online Sexual Compulsivity (OCS) (i.e., an ongoing, out-of-control engagement with OSA).

Cooper, Boies, Maheu, and Greenfield (1999) suggest that there are three primary factors of online sexual activity, which they refer to as the Triple-A-Engine, that "turbocharges" OSA. The three components include accessibility (i.e., millions of sites available anytime of day or night), affordability (i.e., competition on the World Wide Web keeps all prices low and there are many ways to find "free" sexual activity), and anonymity (i.e., people believe that their communications are anonymous).

Sexuality Information and Education on the Internet

These three factors may be fueling a new sexual revolution (Cooper & Griffin-Shelley, 2002). One reason that this is particularly exciting is because it is allowing people access to accurate information on human sexuality and opportunities to educate themselves without the all too common concerns...