Through studies, researchers have identified a variety of reasons for why users engage in online sexual activities. To make understanding these many different reasons better, the researchers have broken down the different types of users into four separate categories.
The first type of user is referred to as the recreational user. This group makes up the majority of people who engage in online sexual activity use. 56% of users identified their primary reason for using online sexual activities was for a recreational reason. These users claim to engage in online sexual activity as a way to distract themselves from real world routines in order to "take a break" for a short period of time. Many users in this category also explain their use as a way of coping with stress. 6% of users recorded that coping with stress was the primary reason for using online sexual activities (Cooper et al., 2004). Another way for these users to engage in online sexual activities for recreational purposes is through education, socialization, and support. 25% of users claimed to use online sexual activity for one or more of these reasons (Cooper et al., 2004).
The next category identified by researchers is known as sexually compulsive users. It was primarily found that prior to using online sexual activities these users already had a history of sexual problems in the past. This group makes up nearly 14% of users, and they are more in danger of relapse because this problem can further escalate while those users are attempting to control their current and past sexual problems (Cooper et al., 2004).
The third category is known as the "at-risk" users, and is also referred to as the most critical of all the categories. Unlike the sexually compulsive users, they do not have a prior history of sexually based problems, and are not likely to obtain them. Within this category are two separate subtypes of "at-risk" users. The first subtype is called stress reactive type. This type of person uses online sexual activity in times of high stress. 32% of males reported that they used online sexual activities to cope with stress, and 17% of women (Cooper et al, 2004). The second subtype of this category is known as the depressive type. This type of user is generally depressed, dysthymic, or anxious and begins using online sexual activities in an attempt to escape from real life situations and obtain relief for their dysphoria. This subtype of people have also been recorded to have a higher risk of abusing the internet in general (Cooper et al., 2004).
The final category of online sexual activity users is referred to as the fantasy type user. These users engage in online sexual activities for the purpose of obtaining fantasy fulfillment. 21% of users claimed they used online sexual activity for the primary reason of fantasy fulfillment. 10% of users claimed that they use the internet to engage in sexual activities that they would not perform in real life (Cooper et al., 2004).
Additional Information:
http://www.cyberpsychology.eu/view.php?cisloclanku=2014030603