In the age of the information technology boom, taboo expressions of sexuality will gradually become accepted by society and virtual sex will provide people with a safe way to seek sexual satisfaction, Shu-te University academics said yesterday.
In a questionnaire given to college students aged 18 to 24, 90 percent said they had heard of virtual sex. Among 800 Internet users surveyed separately, 50 percent said they had either had virtual sex or would consider trying it in the future, Fu Yi-wen (傅怡文), a student in the Graduate School of Human Sexuality, told a press conference in Taipei.
The surveys were part of Fu's doctoral thesis on sexuality and the Internet.
"The question is not whether we accept the idea of virtual sex -- it already exists in society and in the future we expect to see it prevail and become a socially accepted way of having sex," said Lin Yan-ching (林燕卿), the dean of the school.
Men are more accepting of virtual sex and view it as a novel, exciting and fun sexual outlet, Fu said, while women see it in a more negative light.
However, "regardless of gender, virtual sex provides a platform for sexual interaction that may not be possible or feasible in the real world," she said. "A lesbian could disguise herself as a man and have virtual sex with a woman online, who in turn may not actually be a woman at all," Fu said.
"One female graduate student we interviewed said that virtual sex allowed her to act in ways that contradicted her `good girl' image in the real world," Fu said.
In her thesis, Fu identifies three categories of virtual sex: online messenger sex, phone sex and Webcam sex.
Each has pros and cons, she said.
"All are forms of `safe sex' without pregnancy or the risk of sexually transmitted diseases; there are no time or location constraints; and anonymity is almost guaranteed if you take steps to protect yourself," she said.
"For example, among the virtual sex users interviewed, most provided video feed of themselves from the neck down. Some people used several different log-on IDs and some had subscribed to cellphone numbers specifically for their phone sex partners," the doctoral candidate said.
Because of the anonymity and sense of safety, "virtual sex can be seen as a kind of `sex toy' that allows sexual stimulation or satisfaction in a controlled setting. It could rejuvenate a person's actual sex life, even for married people," Lin said.
But not everything is rosy in the world of virtual sex, the academics said.
"The lack of physical contact may leave virtual sex users feeling a sense of emptiness afterwards. Phone bills and internet equipment investments may also pile up," Fu said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and