Depression, anxiety and loneliness have long been recognized as major mental health issues around the world. Self-soothing behavior such as engaging in sexual acts connected to high mental well-being is widespread to ease psychological distress temporarily.
Anxiety And Sadness, Not Loneliness Drive The Usage Of Sex Tech
In most cases, those who live a lonely life are taken as victims of such conditions where they go for sex tech products, but now new research has come up with some more facts that lead to a different reason for using sextech by such people.
The prime factor that affects one’s mood is not loneliness but anxiety added by sadness that makes one go for such an option. A group of experts has carried out a study that has shed light on this factor.
We looked at online sexual behavior through the use of emerging digital sexual technology or sextech because the COVID-19 pandemic aggravated numerous mental health issues alongside physical distancing rules. We looked at whether those who had higher levels of anxiety, sadness, and or loneliness were more likely to use sextech in a 2019 study of 8004 American adults.
Furthermore, because loneliness contributes to anxiety and depression, we looked into whether anxiety or depression mediated the link between loneliness and sex tech use.
People who had higher levels of worry and depression were more prone to use sex technology. Those who were lonelier were less likely to use sex tech, implying that the patterns mentioned above were not related to a lack of social connection.
When you want to spend time with other people but can’t, sadness is a natural emotion.
Connecting with others is more than simply a fun way to kill time. It’s a crucial part of overall health. After all, humans are social beings, and a lack of social connection can hurt your health.
Loneliness might cause your body to produce more cortisol. This can wreak havoc on your immune system and put you at risk. a reliable source for a variety of health issues, including:
- diabetes
- Sleep problems
- cancer
- concerns with the heart
- obesity
Loneliness can hurt one’s mental health. For one thing, it can exacerbate any symptoms you’re already experiencing. However, it can have a role in the development of major mental illnesses such as depression.
“As the global need for innovative mental health resources and interventions increases, these emerging sexual technologies may provide relief for people with mental health struggles”, Marcotte added.
“This research provides an important pathway for expanding the scope of mental health interventions particularly as technology becomes increasingly prevalent and accessible in everyday life.”
It’s usually a smart first step in managing undesired feelings to figure out what’s causing them, so the short answer is yes: It does matter whether you’re dealing with loneliness or depression.
Loneliness and depression share many of the same symptoms making it difficult to tell where one ends, and the other begins.
“Our results provide evidence to the contrary suggesting that online sexual spaces aren’t functioning as ‘last resorts’ for people who haven’t been able to form sexual relationships in real life,” said Gesselman, who was also a part of the study.
“Instead, many users in these spaces do likely have social support and adequate social networks, but they’re turning to online sexual technologies for a unique boost to their psychological mindset.”
According to our findings, people with mental health issues may be lured to interactive digital forms of sexual behavior as a sort of distraction or self-soothing. This discovery opens the door to broadening the spectrum of mental health interventions which is especially crucial as technology becomes more prominent and accessible in everyday life
