There were differences in interest in certain sexual practices between online and offline environments for the survey participants (Craft, 2012). For all offline sexual practices, participants were more likely to express interest than actual participation. Sexual practices may include Group practice, Bondage/BDSM, and watching others (Craft, 2012).
In conclusion, some issues the researcher mentioned were volunteer bias and that the survey sample does not represent the entire Second Life population (Craft, 2012). Also, there is always room for improvement. First, the experiment could be replicated using representative sampling methods for the Second Life population, so as to minimize the effects of volunteer bias. Second, exploration of interactive effects could be strengthened by greater numbers of responses in both the Second Life survey and the comparative surveys. Third, findings here could be replicated for online relationships in different environments such as internet dating sites to see whether these phenomena are specific to the Second Life virtual environment or are indicative of wider trends. Fourth, a specific hypotheses could be tested using pre-defined predictor and outcome variables (Craft, 2012).
The researchers found significant differences in demographics and relationships between the Second Life survey participants and U.S. Internet users (Craft, 2012). For comparing demographics, there were no statistically significant differences with gender or income between the U.S. Internet users and survey participants, but the Second Life participants were more likely to be white, older, more educated, and of non-Christian, atheist or agnostic religious belief. For comparing relationships, 90% of the surveyed participants reported offline relationships, half of the participants were currently in a relationship,
and over 65% of participants were currently in both offline and online relationships. Internet users were twice as likely to be married than survey participants. Although, age was an issue. There were no significant differences with Internet users and survey participants between the ages of 26-45. Between the ages of 46-65, Internet users were more likely to be married (Craft, 2012).
The frequency and motivation of online sexual activities, 90% of the survey participants reported experience with cyber sex (Craft, 2012). On average, the participants spent 4 hours per week engaged in cybersex, or about one in every ten hours spent per week in Second Life. The participants are motivated by desire for sexual stimulation, forming an emotional bond with someone else, experimentation in a safe environment, and looking for an online relationship. Most of these participants were not looking for an offline relationship or sexual partner (Craft, 2012).
Works Cited
Craft J, A.,(2012). Love 2.0: A Quantitative Exploration of Sex and Relationships in the Virtual World Second Life, Archives of Sexual Behavior. 41(4), 939-947.
“Internet Relationship.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 22 Jan.