CYBERSEX - RESEARCH NOTES ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VISITORS TO ONLINE CHAT ROOMS

The computer, devised as a computational tool, is now a means of commu nication. Like other technological developments in communication and t ransportation, K. F. Durkin and C. D. Bryant (1995) note that the comp uter can be used for deviant purposes. The Internet and online service s provide access to knowledge and a means for persons of like interest to communicate. Politicians and the popular media have reported anecd otally that deviant conversation, obscenity, and pornography are being distributed via the computer. This study gathered information on the personae projected by individuals who visit online chat rooms putative ly for youth. Less than 10% of the visitors appeared to be genuine you th. Two thirds were adults masquerading as children to engage in cyber sex. Masturbation while reading of the sexual activities of others or during the casting of mutual fantasies is the essence of cybersex. In addition, pornographers represented 25% of those online. The pornograp hers were indiscriminate in sending material and clever at evading reg ulation. Regulation of cyberspace is unlikely to inhibit this form of deviancy as computer communication advances technically.