Sex and Technology Flashcards
What does Erin call “sex + tech”? what are the three kinds?
Technology-Mediated Sexual Activity
- Non-arousal TMSA
- Solitary-arousal TMSA
- Partnered-arousal TMSA
What is non-arousal TMSA? What is it comprised of?
not focused on sexually stimulating materials/immediate gratification
it is comprised of
- seeking sexual information (searching)
- seeking potential sexual interactions (online dating)
What are two possible sources of sexual information online?
- professional/evidence-driven sources (ex: planned parenthood)
- user-generated sources (ex: tiktok, Instagram)
- getting the info more passively, not seeking out the info
What are the pros and cons of seeking sexual information?
Pros:
- affordable
- accessible
- anonymous/private
- fast
Cons:
- unwanted information
- misleading/false information
- social media is a big problem here, anyone can claim to be a professional and we are not likely to fact-check when passively finding it
What is an example of false/ misleading sexual health information online?
Misinformation about pornography:
- there is a lot of info out there about it being bad
- many people say that people are addicted to porn (trend to do no nut November to stop this “addiction”)
- porn is not classified as “addictive” under the DSM
@beaupinto: “Porn is the biggest drug addiction on the planet, because when you see an attractive woman, the alpha part of your brain releases a neurotransmitter called dopamine”
- There is no alpha part of the brain and dopamine is a broad thing that we release when experiencing pleasure as a whole
Can porn be a source of misinformation?
Yes!
- We see an association/correlation between watching pornography and particular myths about what sex is like
Myth example: one thing that women really like is a sudden unannounced switch to anal sex
This correlation doesn’t prove causation, but some research has led us in the direction of it
ex: A porn literacy program was found to improve adolescents’ knowledge about porn-related misinformation, participants were less likely to endorse misinformation and had improved factual knowledge of sexual activity
How are the “pros” of seeking out sexual information relevant for marginalized people (LGBTQ+)?
Compared to their counterparts, they search for sexual help and related info online even more, particularly because info that would be relevant to that population is regularly excluded from our traditional sex education
- finding info online can be good for them if not misinformation
- Social media = source of identity affirmation (provides a positive source of a community)
- during COVID social media allowed them to discover their LGBTQ+ identity, and connect with other LGBTQ+ people
Seeking sexual partners - a history of online dating in the early years:
1940-2010
- hetero couples main way of meeting was through friends and bars/restaurants then that began to drop
- before 1997 online meetings were not common because the internet didn’t exist
- rise of online meeting around early 2000’s
ex: happy families planning service (not rly online - 1959), match.com (1995), okcupid+ plenty of fish (2002-2003)
1997-2010: difference between hetero and same sex couples meeting online
20% of heter couples were meeting online when 70% of same-sex couples were meeting online
platforms that cam out during this time:
- gaydar & planet romeo (1999-2002)
- grindr & scruff (2009-2010)
what was online dating like between 2010-2020?
around 2010, 20% became 40% for hetero couples meeting online (became more popular in 2010’s)
- tinder - 2012
- hinge - 2012
- bumble - 2014
app-based platforms make it so easy for people to carry around their potential partners in their pockets
What is a changing trend seen for online dating now? why do we think?
The data stops at 2020, but as of 2023 online dating apps are most popular among millennials (60%) and less among GenX and GenZ
Reason:
worry about rejection has caused over half (56%) of GenZ hinge daters to miss out on their chance with someone (decide not to meet up with someone)
Why is there an increase in millennials’ use of dating apps?
- less stigma around it
- it’s convenient
- instant gratification:
- get a hit of dopamine when you match with
someone and get that notification that
someone is interested in you - 44% of millennials say they use Tinder for a
confidence- boost (people aren’t using
it for dating or sex, they use it for self-esteem
boost)
- get a hit of dopamine when you match with
Gamification and ghosting
gamifying the dating process (scoring points, competing, rules)
- matching with someone is like scoring a point
ghosting is when one person suddenly ignores or stops communicating with another person, without telling them why
A study found that Participants rated ghosting as “morally acceptable” when the relationship was shorter and lower intensity (like a relationship on a dating app)
- gamifying makes it a lot easier to ghost - if you see people as a point to be scored it dehumanizes people!
What might be a large reason to continue ghosting?
In a study, 70% of women and 20% of men received a disproportionately aggressive response after letting someone down
wanting to avoid that by ghosting
Paradox of online dating that we see:
rise of online dating = increase of ingle people and decrease in sexual activity… how does that make sense if its easier than ever to find a partner?
The reason for the paradox of online dating:
- choice overload: jam example
- rejection mindset: people are more likely to reject prospective partners when they have more options available
- research shows, the more options people think are available, the harder it is to commit to just one
solitary-arousal TMSA
Involve one-way access to sexually explicit/stimulating stimuli; includes:
- porn
What are the two broad categories of porn?
- independednt/femenist/queer porn: Produced for and caters to non-traditional audience (women, LGBTQ+ etc…)
- mainstream pornography: produced for and caters predominantly to men
- most likely to find, what we think about
What is the most searched term on Pornhub 2023? do we know why?
Term: Hentai
thought because of it being able to depict illegal things (13% of content) and impossible scenarios(5% of content)… but doesn’t seem significant in the data
We don’t know why!
- maybe because of the fandom, there are many searches on characters and videogames
Reason for the decrease in pornhub traffic compared to an average day?
The holiday season, when people are busy doing other things they are not watching porn
Which gender watches more porn each month than the other?
Males (75-85% of them)
Females (25-30%)
Are [cis] women less aroused by pornography than men?
No, they are equally as aroused by porn BUT porn is:
- a more acceptable part of sexual expression for men than for women
- largely made by and for men (mainstream kind of pornography)
- Women aren’t being aroused to porn based on
the content is shown so they don’t watch it
Objectification:
The act of treating a person as an object/thing
- E.g., depiction or use of a person’s body/body parts for sexual gratification, taking the body away from the human (dehumanization)
According to Pornhub top searches…women are probably being objectified
Fetishization: a form of objectification
The act of making someone an object of sexual desire based on some aspect of their identity (e.g., race/ethnicity; sexual orientation)
- racist, rude, dehumanizing
people report experiencing this while using dating apps, but we can’t say that porn and the fetishization that occurs while people watch it is causing it, they seem to be associated though
what is shown in pornography relating to differences in women and men according to objectification (what Erin found to be interesting)? Does this demonstrate social learning theory?
Orgasms: a larger % of men are shown to have an orgasm than the % of women
Yes, In real life, 35% of women regularly experience an orgasm vs. 85% of men regularly experiencing them
- reflects what is shown in the porn
men: good sex = orgasm
women: good sex = no pain
Orgasm/pleasure gap:
Gender differences in the amount of orgasms [cis] women and men usually experience during sexual activity (men > women)
It is not anatomy:
- exists for women in mixed-sex relationships, but not same-sex relationships
- lesbian women experience orgasms during sex in >85% of all sexual encounters
What women want is not what they see in porn!!!
Partnered-arousal TMSA
Interactive and requires the participation of at least two people for the activity to occur; includes:
TM Sexual Interaction: Any interpersonal interaction with a specified other person(s) that occurs through communication technology and includes the exchange of self-created, sexually explicit content
- Phone sex
- Cybersex (zoom, facetime)
- Sexting
Gender difference with TMSI? who do people engage in TMSI the most?
Men engage in TMSI more than women in general across all sexualities (more acceptable for men)
They engage with all different kinds of partners (committed, FWB, stranger)
- found to be the most common with a committed partner rather than a stranger
- probably due to privacy + security concerns (sharing photos)
What is said about TMSI and its impact on relationship satisfaction?
Mixed options on it, Erin wondered if it depended on a person’s motivations!
Approach Motives:
drive us towards positive outcomes
Ex: coming to class because you want to learn and gain knowledge
Ex: Approaching sexual activity because you want to experience sexual pleasure
- When people use approach motives to guide their sexual behavior with a romantic person, they tend to experience positive outcomes
Avoidance Motives:
doing something because we want to avoid a negative outcome
Ex: coming to class because if you don’t, you’ll miss something that may be on the exam
Ex: I’m going to sext with my partner because I’m afraid he’ll cheat on me if I don’t
- When people use approach motives to guide their sexual behaviour with a romantic person. They tend to experience more negative outcomes
Are these approach and avoidance motives for TMSIs associated with different outcomes (measures of sexual, relationship, and life satisfaction)? How do they connect?
- When people used approach motives to engage in TMSI, they reported higher sexual satisfaction and higher relationship satisfaction
- When people used avoidance motives to engage in TMSI, they reported lower sexual satisfaction and lower relationship satisfaction
When the desire for in-person sexual activity was added to the mix, how did that affect the 3 different outcomes?
Approach motives: people want to engage in in-person sex with their partner which in turn means that they experience higher sexual, relationship, and life satisfaction
Avoidance motives: people want to engage LESS in in-person sex with their partner which in turn means that they experience lower sexual, relationship, and life satisfaction
Erobotics
Artificial robotic agents; don’t just mediate sexual experiences, but are also interactive partners in sexual experiences
- Virtual/augmented partners
- Erotic chatbots
- Sex robots
Uncanny Valley
Uncanny Valley: artifacts that approach human likeness that aren’t quite human-like can elicit aversive reactions like eeriness, disgust, creepiness
- Close to human likeness but not close enough which gives us the uncanny valley effect
What happens when we cross the uncanny valley related to sex robots?
When you cross that valley, when things kind of approach human likeness in a way that is pretty much human (Westworld robots) it is likely that our reactions become more positive and it’s possible that when we get past that uncanny valley feeling, we might be more willing to have sex with a robot, but because it’s so human-like it doesn’t elicit the feeling of disgust
