Internet Sexual Addiction
Internet Sexual Addiction
It seems that the Internet has become an ever-growing part in numerous areas of the everyday lives of people. One area that is worthy of further study involves sexual addiction and how it is related with too much use of the Internet. Some scholars allege that sociopaths are starting to emerge online and it has been dubbed as “technological addictions”. This article looks at Internet addiction with respect to excessive sexual behavior. It includes discussions of the notion of addiction to sex and whether the entire notion is viable. This will be achieved through the assessment of the small quantity of available empirical data. It also concludes that sex on the Internet is a new form of expression that may encourage partaking due to the identified disinhibition factors and anonymity. Also, it was claimed that even though there is only a small amount of empirical data, Internet sexual addiction is existent and that there are several prospects for future research on the subject.
Extreme sexual behavior It is perhaps a reasonable assumption to make that most scholars—especially those who work on the subject of addiction—do not regard extreme sex to be an addiction. There have been numerous criticisms on the notion of sexual addiction from various points of view. Goodman (1992) summarized these as follows: • Moral. Sexual behavior as an addiction demoralizes the person’s responsibility for the way he or she behaves. • Scientific. Free usage of the term “addiction” has caused it to be meaningless (Coleman, 1986). • Conventional. Addiction must be defined physiologically because it is, to begin with, a physiological condition (Levine & Troiden, 1988; Coleman, 1986). • Sociological. Addiction is just a term used to describe behavior that diverges from the norms of society (Levine & Troiden, 1988; Coleman, 1986). In spite of a rather negative theoretical viewpoint towards the notion of sexual addiction, it
It seems that the Internet has become an ever-growing part in numerous areas of the everyday lives of people. One area that is worthy of further study involves sexual addiction and how it is related with too much use of the Internet. Some scholars allege that sociopaths are starting to emerge online and it has been dubbed as “technological addictions”. This article looks at Internet addiction with respect to excessive sexual behavior. It includes discussions of the notion of addiction to sex and whether the entire notion is viable. This will be achieved through the assessment of the small quantity of available empirical data. It also concludes that sex on the Internet is a new form of expression that may encourage partaking due to the identified disinhibition factors and anonymity. Also, it was claimed that even though there is only a small amount of empirical data, Internet sexual addiction is existent and that there are several prospects for future research on the subject.
Extreme sexual behavior It is perhaps a reasonable assumption to make that most scholars—especially those who work on the subject of addiction—do not regard extreme sex to be an addiction. There have been numerous criticisms on the notion of sexual addiction from various points of view. Goodman (1992) summarized these as follows: • Moral. Sexual behavior as an addiction demoralizes the person’s responsibility for the way he or she behaves. • Scientific. Free usage of the term “addiction” has caused it to be meaningless (Coleman, 1986). • Conventional. Addiction must be defined physiologically because it is, to begin with, a physiological condition (Levine & Troiden, 1988; Coleman, 1986). • Sociological. Addiction is just a term used to describe behavior that diverges from the norms of society (Levine & Troiden, 1988; Coleman, 1986). In spite of a rather negative theoretical viewpoint towards the notion of sexual addiction, it
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