Although now overtaken by social networking sites as the most visited places on the web, pornography sites remain well-trafficked. But spending too much time online in the pursuit of carnal pleasure might have serious implications for your mental health, according to researchers in Australia.
The work, presented at a meeting in Australia last month, finds a link between clinical depression and an online sex life. 1,325 men from the US and Australia were surveyed about their Internet sex habits, which might include trolling for porn, participating in online chats, or doing things with webcams. They were also asked questions designed to elucidate the respondents' state of mental health with regards to depression.
A significant percentage (27 percent) of those surveyed displayed moderate to severe depression, with similar numbers suffering from anxiety (30 percent) and stress (35 percent). Marcus Squirrell, a PhD student at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, and the author of the study, found a correlation between the severity of depression and the amount of time spent engaged in online sexual activity.
However, before you toss that bottle of Xanax, remember that correlation does not always imply causation. Is the reliance on online sex responsible for the depression and anxiety, a symptom of those feelings, or a relief mechanism? It's certainly possible that underlying psychological issues in the users' lives are driving them to reliance on online sex.
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