Many people may automatically believe that the primary reinforcement of the online sexual act is the sexual gratification received from the experience. Studies have shown that sexual stimulation may initially be the reason to engage in cybersex, however, over time, the experience if reinforced through a type of drug "high" that provides an emotional or mental escape or an altered state of reality. For example, a lonely woman suddenly feels desired by her many cyber-partners or a sexually insecure man transforms into a hot cyberlover that all the women in the chat room want. The experience not only provides sexual fulfillment, but allows a subjective mental escape achieved through the development of an online fantasy life where a person can adopt a new persona and online identity. The courts have already argued the role of online compulsivity as a mental disorder in the defense of online sexual deviancy cases. For example, one landmark case, the United States versus McBroom, successfully demonstrated that the client’s downloading, viewing, and transferring of Internet pornography was less about erotic gratification and more about an emotional escape mechanism to relieve mental tension.

Gender significantly influences the way men and women view cybersex. Women prefer cybersex because it hides their physical appearance, removes the social stigma that women shouldn't enjoy sex, and allows them a safe means to concentrate on their sexuality in new, uninhibited ways. Men prefer cybersex because it removes performance anxiety that may be underlying problems with premature ejaculation or impotence and it also hides their physical appearance for men who feel insecure about hair loss, penis size, or weight gain.

Treatment for Cybersexual Addiction:

Caught in the Net

If cybersex has impacted a significant relationship, then click on the link to learn more about our exclusive new booklet: Infidelity Online: An Effective Guide for Rebuilding Your Relationship after a Cyberaffair.

If you and your marriage have already been hurt by Cybersexual addiction, then read Caught in the Net, the first and only recovery book on Internet addiction to help rebuild your relationship.

If you need immediate help, please contact our Virtual Clinic to receive email or live chat counseling sessions.

For spouses: find out how spouses deal with cyberaffairs

next: Men, Women, and the Internet: Gender Differences.