SEX, THE INTERNET AND AMERICAN
SUBURBIA
"Cheating online is
Adultery."
Headline from La Stampa, a popular
Italian newspaper
"My wife doesn’t care
if I have relationships (even sexual) on the Internet. It’s like it’s
not real ...I can get away with it. But, I’m sure she’d get upset
if we were to meet for a drink or something."
-- Anonymous Dateable.com Survey
Respondent
41-year old married male from
Oklahoma City
A recent survey by Dateable.com,
one of the first Internet romance communities, has revealed the results from
a four-month survey of Internet sex and morality. The bottom line: You can
talk, but you can’t look.
Dateable.com picked a good time
to release these results. The Italian public is having the same debate this
week. A recent poll of Italians, where 97% of the population is Roman Catholic,
said that 40% of Italian women interviewed said they feared that "their husbands
might find a woman more fascinating than them while surfing the
Web."
How do Americans
compare?
When Dateable.com visitors were
asked where they would draw the line when their significant other commits
cyber-contact with a member of the opposite sex, their responses were a little
surprising.
-
According to the survey, conducted
by Dateable.com in the first half of 2000, here is what IS OK:
-
79.7% of their viewers stated
that it IS OK to reply to an instant message or ICQ.
-
The same percent of viewers even
went as far as to say it IS OK to have an online IM or ICQ conversation with
a member of the opposite sex whom they don’t even know.
-
An astonishing 75.2% of their
visitors stated that it IS OK for their significant other to visit an adult
site.
And here’s what’s NOT
OK:
-
Photo exchange. 54% of
Dateable.com’s visitors say it is NOT OK to exchange photos with a person
of the opposite sex whom they don’t know.
-
77.4% visitors polled that it
is NOT OK for their significant other to participate in an adult one-on-one
online video conversation with a member of the opposite sex whom they don’t
know.
-
80.6% of Dateable.com’s visitors
feel that it is NOT OK for their significant other to give his or her phone
number to a member of the opposite sex whom they do not know, but met
online.
Nobody knows the true number of
extra-marital affairs occurring online, but Elizabeth Field, founder of
Infidelitybusters.com, said she knows increasing numbers of people who have
been burned by this kind of cheating. "To me, it's a sign of the times ...
I don't agree with (cyber-cheating) at all," said Field.
Want to learn more about the survey?
Go to www.dateable.com to participate in the sex and morality survey and
read the results.
© Dateable.com LLC
2000
Dateable.com is an exciting online community for singles, couples and romance lovers. Dateable.com has romantic resources, advice, poetry, greeting cards, and more. Dateable.com also features specialty matchmaking services. Whether you are looking for a soulmate or a playmate, visit http://dateable.com
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