How do you feel about chats, video dating services, and forums? Do you feel comfortable meeting people on social networks for something more than just discussing political and social news? Let's rephrase that: have you met people on social networks and websites for one simple and unambiguous purpose – for sex? And what about engaging in "virtual" activities? I understand, it's a sensitive topic, but why don't we figure out how the screens of mobile phones and computers and all these realities of the digital world affect our relationships. Have we forgotten how to engage in something other than social networks?
Sex is essentially a process requiring the physical presence of a partner; but with the advent of high-speed internet, webcams, microphones, and high-quality images, the line between physical presence and stimulating fantasy has begun to blur quickly. If video chat or conference calls are suitable for discussing business matters and conducting webinars and presentations, then why aren't they suitable for building communication on other, less formal issues? :)
The Screen as an Addition... to Sex
Technologies have led to the fact that sex today is seen not only as a human need but also as a driving force of internet technologies. An undeniable fact: the porn industry has become a stimulus for new advertising formats, new ways of processing and transmitting graphic and video content, and even influenced mechanisms for content protection and compliance/failure of copyright laws – not to mention torrents and ways to protect data transmission channels. Let's add to this the mechanisms for working with virtual and real money and instant payments (which have also grown due to the development of the virtual "hourly relationship" market). Sexologists and psychologists agree that virtual sex can be used as a tool for psycho-emotional release and sublimation of fears and tendencies that without "a million screens" would lead people to commit significantly more crimes and offenses.
This thesis is controversial and will find many opponents and supporters. But the accessibility of sexual relationships and contacts with acquaintances and strangers thanks to the screens of various devices has become not only a universal evil but also a means of reducing social and emotional sexual tension in society (unfortunately, we cannot say the same about the reality in the former USSR: here, perpetrators in uniform and police uniforms are encountered dozens of times more frequently than abroad, and viewing "porn" on smartphones is unlikely to help them).
The Screen as a Barrier to Full Relationships
The screen of a mobile phone or computer creates an illusion of closeness with someone who is thousands of kilometers away. Imagination can supplement the picture, but full relationships (even purely physical ones, not to mention relationships that usually result in the birth of children and the creation of a complete family) – you will not achieve full relationships.
Yes, perhaps tomorrow scientists will show us some super-helmet or glasses that will stimulate areas of the brain and skin receptors, and as a result, the experience from virtual touches, caresses, and kisses will be identical to ordinary ones, and orgasms will be achieved even more technologically and efficiently. But will this cybersex be a full replacement for relationships (any – lasting or for one night, that doesn't matter)? Is it ethical to replace your "soulmate" or sexual partner with a machine and a set of programs – how does that fit into the concept of "normality"?
This post results in more rhetorical and unanswered questions than answers; but I really don't know what our future will be like in conditions where visual experiences and subjective encounters are provided by Skype, FaceTime, Google Hangouts, and a whole bunch of video hosting platforms featuring "18" (or even "21"). 5, 10, 13 inches – this is now the length of the screen diagonal, not what you were thinking. Does this mean that the reproductive and hedonistic components of sex are under threat in our digital world? They say this is just the beginning: just think of the app for couples Couple, where to "touch" your partner, you have to touch the screen. And then dolls from the sex shop will be replaced by silicone robots with a built-in set of emotions… Although I sincerely hope that it won't come to that.
