This groundbreaking examination of cybersex was originally published as a special issue of the journal Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity. It is a crucial resource for sex therapists, who until now had no rigorous study of the effect of online pornography on the patients they treat. It will also be of great interest to general marriage and family therapists who find themselves dealing with this issue with their clients, as well as others who are interested in the Internet as a social phenomenon. Cybersex: The Dark Side of the Force presents for the first time an empirical foundation for the discussion of cybersex compulsivity and its effect on the mental health of individuals, couples, teens, and young children.

First Published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This groundbreaking book is the first of its kind to thoroughly explore the topic of cybersex and the effects of Internet use on sexuality. Focusing on treatment and assessment issues and the clinical implications of cybersex, this authoritative volume provides mental health professionals with an analysis of the most recent empirical evidence along with research specific to the impact of Internet use on couples and families, gay men, people with disabilities, children and the workplace. Edited by one of the leading researchers, clinicians, and authors in the emerging field of sex and the Internet, this book addresses the growing complexity of Internet sex issues and their impact on psychological functioning.

Related link: Free Email Alerting

The exponential growth of the Internet in recent years has given individuals immediate and virtually anonymous access to all types of information, including explicit sexual content. While many celebrate the personal freedoms made possible by the Internet, others consider unfettered access to online sexual material to be an unhealthy, if not dangerous phenomenon. Expanding this debate, Cybersex: The Dark Side of the Force presents for the first time an empirical foundation for the discussion of cybersex compulsivity and its effect on the mental health of individuals, couples, teens, and young children.
While pornographic material has long been available to the consumer in print and video form, these purchases are inherently limited by the individual's degree of comfort with the public exposure (however minimal) that they they require. In contrast, the Internet provides a forum where children can access unsuitable material without parental supervision, and where individuals with existing sexual compulsions can acces material that can exacerbate their struggle to maintain control over their desire. Even among individuals who are not as susceptible to such material, cybersex can create distorted associations or compound negative or unrealistic expectations about sexuality.
This groundbreaking examination of cybersex was originally published as a special issue of the journal Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity. It is a crucial resource for sex therapists, who until now had no rigorous study of the effect of online pornography on the patients they treat. It will also be of great interest to general marriage and family therapists who find themselves dealing with this issue with their clients, as well as others who are interested in the Internet as a social phenomenon.

Related link: Free Email Alerting