STUDIES SHOW: SEX CAUSED THE INTERNET!
We knew something was fishy when we read in the New York Times that a new study had found that "at least 200,000 internet users are hooked on pornography sites, X-rated chat rooms or other sexual materials online."
Fishy, because 1) most internet paranoia stories are utter bullshit; 2) the study said that women and gays "may not have the same skills built up that heterosexual men have on dealing with sexual temptation," which is utter bullshit; and 3) the article reported darkly that "researchers said cybersex compulsives spent more that 11 hours a week at x-rated sites and had more problems with relationships and jobs than occasional visitors." Whereas the truth is that the internet has had a positive effect on the sexual identities of many people, irrespective of the amount of time they spend online.
A relatively safe, new ground for experimentation and role-playing, the internet affords a healthy alternative to morbid fantasy and premature, ill-thought-out action, let alone the more profound state of erotic unconsciousness which blankets many men and women, protecting them from potentially fulfilling tastes and flavors other than the two or three they're aware of. To us, it makes sense that upon the first inkling of additional fulfilling tastes and flavors provided by a new mass medium, people would invest some time... exploring. If the results get people to rethink old relationships and jobs, well, baby, that's life.
Of course, some people mis-use this new ground. They waste hours online, lying, becoming abusive, freaking on nice people. Most of those getting fucked up with internet addictions, though. are people who were fucked up in the first place-- and that fact is kinda what has emerged from a subsequent report about the study. The Industry Standard now says that the guy who conducted the study, Dr. Alvin Cooper, happens to be the "Sexploration" columnist for MSNBC, and that he used methodology that was deeply flawed. Cooper's study was directed at self-selected cybersex veterans, as opposed to random subjects, and conducted on the web, as opposed to in person, which is how the most scientifically meaningful sex studies are conducted.
We think that people looking for shit are gonna find shit-- even scientists!. And people who aren't looking for good stuff probably ain't gonna trip over it accidentally.
Fishy, because 1) most internet paranoia stories are utter bullshit; 2) the study said that women and gays "may not have the same skills built up that heterosexual men have on dealing with sexual temptation," which is utter bullshit; and 3) the article reported darkly that "researchers said cybersex compulsives spent more that 11 hours a week at x-rated sites and had more problems with relationships and jobs than occasional visitors." Whereas the truth is that the internet has had a positive effect on the sexual identities of many people, irrespective of the amount of time they spend online.
A relatively safe, new ground for experimentation and role-playing, the internet affords a healthy alternative to morbid fantasy and premature, ill-thought-out action, let alone the more profound state of erotic unconsciousness which blankets many men and women, protecting them from potentially fulfilling tastes and flavors other than the two or three they're aware of. To us, it makes sense that upon the first inkling of additional fulfilling tastes and flavors provided by a new mass medium, people would invest some time... exploring. If the results get people to rethink old relationships and jobs, well, baby, that's life.
Of course, some people mis-use this new ground. They waste hours online, lying, becoming abusive, freaking on nice people. Most of those getting fucked up with internet addictions, though. are people who were fucked up in the first place-- and that fact is kinda what has emerged from a subsequent report about the study. The Industry Standard now says that the guy who conducted the study, Dr. Alvin Cooper, happens to be the "Sexploration" columnist for MSNBC, and that he used methodology that was deeply flawed. Cooper's study was directed at self-selected cybersex veterans, as opposed to random subjects, and conducted on the web, as opposed to in person, which is how the most scientifically meaningful sex studies are conducted.
We think that people looking for shit are gonna find shit-- even scientists!. And people who aren't looking for good stuff probably ain't gonna trip over it accidentally.
posted by Lucia Toledo at 9:24 AM
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