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BEHAVIOURAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SELF-PERCEIVED IMPACT OF USING THE INTERNET TO MEET SEXUAL PARTNERS AMONG MSM. Nuno Miguel Nodin Manteigas
- Jerónimo Borges Valgueiro
- 2 Há anos
- Visualizações:
1 i BEHAVIOURAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SELF-PERCEIVED IMPACT OF USING THE INTERNET TO MEET SEXUAL PARTNERS AMONG MSM Nuno Miguel Nodin Manteigas Dissertação orientada por: Professora Isabel M.P. Leal (ISPA Instituto Universitário de Ciências Psicológicas, Sociais e da Vida) Professor Alex Carballo-Diéguez (HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute) Tese submetida como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Doutoramento em Psicologia Área de especialidade Psicologia Clínica 2014
2 ii Tese apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Doutor em Psicologia na área de especialização.de Psicologia Clínica realizada sob a orientação da Prof.ª Doutora Isabel Maria Pereira Leal e do Prof. Doutor Alex Carballo-Diéguez, apresentada no ISPA Instituto Universitário, no ano de O presente trabalho foi financiado pelo Programa Operacional Ciência e Inovação [POCI 2010] da Fundação Para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal [SFRH / BD / / 2004].
3 iii To my parents, with much love Para os meus pais, com muito amor
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5 Soft Machine, Catarina Patrício, 2014
6 v Acknowledgements Even during periods of lonely work, this dissertation was the result of an enriching collaborative process and was made possible by the support and encouragement of numerous people and institutions. I would like to thank the following people and offer my sincere apologies to those whom I have left out: Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, for funding this research Isabel Leal, for the amazing support she has given throughout the years, for being my mentor and inspiration and for her friendship; it has been a great journey Alex Carballo-Diéguez, for welcoming me into his dynamic academic world, for his patience, positivity and continued support; it has been an honour and a pleasure to work with him Gary Dowsett, for allowing me to spend three fantastic months at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at La Trobe University in Melbourne; his attentive mentorship influenced me greatly and helped shape the theoretical core of this dissertation Ana Ventuneac, for teaching me a few tricks in the art of research, for her precious assistance in data analysis and for making my time at the HIV Center so richly rewarding Susie Hoffman, for her professional guidance on the craft of writing scientific articles and for her valuable feedback on some of the studies included here Daniel Saloman, for generously proof-reading and providing helpful suggestions throughout the writing of this dissertation Leonel Jorge Sousa Duarte, for his invaluable support during an important phase of my doctoral process Catarina Patrício, for the artwork commissioned to mark this important step in my life and for sharing the dissertation writing pains, as well as other pains over the last few years All the participants who took part in the studies, without whom none of this research would have been possible Bob Remien, Cláudia Villalobos, Cristina Salsinha, Família Porto, Hiro Yoshikawa, Ivan Balan, João Maroco, Lucia Maroco, Mark Davis, Michael Hurley, Pamela Valera, Rosário Torres da Costa and my dear colleagues at the HIV Center and at ARCSHS, for their inspiration and support of various sorts My wonderful friends, for always believing that I would eventually succeed in completing this dissertation, even when I doubted it myself My family, for always being there. I love you.
7 vi Palavras-chave: Percepção do self; Internet; homens que têm sexo com homens; tecnologia Key words: Self-perception; Internet; men who have sex with men; tecnology PsycINFO Classification Categories and Codes: 2700 Communication Systems 2750 Mass Media Communications 2900 Social Processes & Social Issues 2980 Sexual Behavior & Sexual Orientation 3000 Social Psychology 3040 Social Perception & Cognition
8 vii RESUMO Esta investigação debruça-se sobre a população de homens que têm sexo com homens (HSH) que utilizam sítios na Internet para encontros amorosos e sexuais. Teve como objectivo compreender qual o impacto dessa experiência sobre o comportamento, percepção do self e percepção dos outros e qual a natureza desse impacto. Recorreu-se a uma metodologia de carácter misto para o efeito. Para a fase qualitativa foram entrevistados 36 HSH sobre a sua utilização da Internet, encontros com parceiros sexuais contactados online (PO) e sexo seguro. Depois de transcritas, as entrevistas foram analisadas tematicamente para os estudos apresentados. Para a fase quantitativa desenvolveu-se um questionário e uma escala destinados a compreender em detalhe a questão sob investigação, baseados nas temáticas identificadas durante a fase qualitativa. Os dados foram recolhidos online. Um total de 317 HSH que cumpriram com os critérios de seleção foram utilizados para o primeiro estudo quantitativo e 313 para o segundo. Cada uma das fases da investigação levaram à produção de dois estudos. O primeiro estudo qualitativo (Estudo Exploratório) analisou os conceitos e práticas de sexo seguro de um grupo de HSH com experiência de conhecer PO. Neste estudo verificouse que, para a maioria dos participantes, as estratégias de prevenção utilizadas com PO ou com aqueles contactados offline eram os mesmos, assim não confirmando a nossa hipótese inicial sobre a influência da Internet sobre comportamentos. O segundo estudo qualitativo (Estudo 1) explorou as percepções de alterações no self associadas à experiência de encontrar PO. Os resultados sugeriram a existência de tais alterações tanto ao nível do self quanto das percepções de outros, de formas positivas (e.g. exploração de potencial individual desconhecido; aquisição de competências de comunicação sexual), negativas (e.g. sentimentos de desconfiança em relação aos outros) e neutras. O primeiro estudo quantitativo (Estudo 2) descreveu o desenvolvimento de uma escala de avaliação das percepções e preferências relativas a conhecer PO, a Sexual Use of the Internet Scale (SUIS), recorrendo aos temas identificados no Estudo 1. A análise factorial exploratória identificou seis factores estatística e tematicamente coerentes: Impacto positivo da Internet, Autoexposição sexual online, Vantagens de conhecer homens online, Preferência por conhecer homens online, Desconfiança de homens online, e Impacto negativo da Internet. Por último, o segundo estudo quantitativo (Estudo 3) averiguou se certos aspectos da experiência de conhecer PO e características dos utilizadores de sites de encontros se associavam a percepções de impacto dessa experiência sobre o self, tal como avaliados pela SUIS. As ANOVAs realizadas sugerem que homens que conhecem PO há menos tempo, homens mais novos e homens solteiros apresentam maior percepção desse impacto. O número de PO, a frequência de conhecer PO e a orientação sexual não apresentaram resultados significativos. Os resultados são discutidos no contexto de preocupações e debates antigos sobre o impacto de tecnologias sobre os seres humanos e sobre a sociedade. Os nossos estudos não suportam o lado tecnofóbico nem o tecnofílico deste debate, mas contribuem para uma visão mais detalhada desta área de investigação. A nossa investigação contribui para o aumento do conhecimento relativo a processos de alteração identitária associados à utilização de plataformas virtuais de encontros de carácter social e sexual entre HSH e também de forma mais alargada.
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10 ix ABSTRACT This research focuses on men who have sex with men (MSM) and use dating and sexual networking websites. Its aims are to understand if and how using these websites affects the men s behaviour, self-perceptions and perceptions of others. A mixed methods approach was used to investigate this topic. The research was organised into a qualitative and a quantitative phase, each leading to the production of two studies. For the qualitative phase, 36 MSM were interviewed about their internet use, meeting sexual partners online, and safe sex. Transcribed interviews were thematically analysed for both studies presented. For the quantitative phase, a survey and a scale aimed at further understanding the research topic were developed based on themes identified during the qualitative phase. Data was collected online. In total, 317 MSM who met selection criteria were retained for the first and 313 for the second quantitative study. The first qualitative study (Exploratory Study) analyses the safer sex concepts and practices of a group of MSM who meet sexual partners online. This study reports that for most participants, the prevention strategies used with partners met for sex online were the same as those used with partners met for sex offline, thus failing to confirm our initial hypothesis of internet-mediated behaviour change. The second qualitative study (Study 1) explores these men s perceptions of self-change associated with their online sexual experience (OSE). The results suggest that OSE does impact on these men s perceptions of themselves and of others in positive (e.g. exploration of unknown personal potential; development of better sexual communication skills), negative (e.g. increased suspiciousness of others) and neutral ways. The first quantitative study (Study 2) describes the development of a scale aimed at investigating men s perceptions and preferences of meeting sexual partners online - the Sexual Use of the Internet Scale (SUIS) - which was informed by the findings of Study 1. The exploratory factor analysis identifies six thematically interconnected and statistically coherent factors: positive impact of the internet, sexual self-exposure online, advantages of meeting men online, preference for meeting men online, mistrust of men online, and negative impact of the Internet. Finally, the second quantitative study (Study 3) aims to ascertain whether specific aspects of the online sexual networking experience and site-user characteristics affect perceived impact upon the self, by using the SUIS. The ANOVA analyses carried out indicate that men with less experience of meeting others online, younger men and single men have significantly higher levels of perceived self-change associated with using the internet to meet sexual partners. The number of online partners, frequency of meeting partners online and sexual orientation has no significant impact on self-perception. The results are discussed in the context of centuries-old debates and concerns about the impact of technology on humans and society. Our findings provide no support for the technophile or the technophobic sides of this debate, but contribute to a more nuanced reading of this field of inquiry. Our research adds to the knowledge of ongoing processes of identify and self change associated with using online social and sexual networking platforms amongst both MSM and more at large.
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12 i Table of contents Introduction... 1 Dissertation structure... 5 Literature review Of technology and its impact History Early and mid 20 th Century Late 20 th and early 21 st Centuries The debate Cultural views of technology The dawn of the Internet Is the Internet changing us? Cognitive change Social change Identity change The impact of online dating and sexual networking Online dating An overview Change associated with online dating Online sexual networking and its impact MSM and the Internet Relevance of the topic Methods Qualitative phase (Exploratory Study and Study 1) Participant recruitment Procedures Measures Analysis Quantitative Phase (Studies 2 and 3) Procedures and participant recruitment Measures Study Sample Ethics approval Studies Exploratory Study: HIV knowledge and related sexual practices among Portuguese men who have sex with men Abstract Introduction Methods Results Discussion References Study 1: Sexual use of the Internet: Perceived impact on MSM s views of self and others Abstract Introduction Methods Results Discussion References Study 2: Validation of a scale assessing perceptions, processes and preferences of using the Internet to meet sexual partners among men who have sex with men Abstract
13 Introduction Method Results Discussion Table 1 Sensitivity analysis of the scale Table 2 Factorial structure of the scale, after extraction of the factors by using principle component analysis with Varimax rotation, retaining 6 factors Table 3 Thematic Analysis of Final Factors References Study 3: Meeting sexual partners online: A study of MSM s perceptions of self-change using the Sexual Use of the Internet Scale (SUIS) Abstract Introduction Materials and Methods Results Discussion References Discussion and conclusions Limitations of the research Conclusions and future directions References Appendices Appendix 1 Screen shot of recruitment profile and recruitment text Appendix 2 Screening questionnaire (qualitative phase) Appendix 3 Interview guide (English translation) Appendix 4 Demographic questionnaire (qualitative phase) Appendix 5 Online Survey Appendix 6 Parallel Article 1: The sex life of personal ads: A literature review Appendix 7 Parallel Article 2: The internet, our cyborg mind Appendix 8 Parallel Article 3: Through the machine it is easier definitions and reactions to the concept of cibersex Appendix 9 Parallel Article 4: The Internet profiles of men who have sex with men within bareback websites Appendix 10 Abstract: The laws of online attraction The good the bad and the ugly. 247 Appendix 11 SPSS Outputs: Study 2 EFA (available in the CD version only) Appendix 12 SPSS Outputs: Study 3 ANOVAs (available in the CD version only) ii
14 1 Introduction
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16 3 The Internet has had a profound impact in the ways people live, work and socialise, including how they connect and relate to each other emotionally and sexually. Some of the features of the Internet that may be facilitating this are the facts that it is easily accessible, affordable and potentially anonymous (Cooper, Putnam, Planchon & Boies, 1999). The coming into being of new ways to select, interact with and get to know mates made possible by the Internet has created new contexts and experiences that might have facilitated processes of self-reflexion and of potential change for those who use it. A growing body of scientific research and analysis suggests that the ubiquitous and ever-growing use of the Internet is changing relevant aspects of our cognition, identity and social interactions (e.g. Goren, 2003; Litowitz, 2012; Thompson, 2013; Turkle, 2011; Tylim, 2012). This body of research, in turn, cannot be detached from larger discussions about the impact that technology has had on people and society, which can be traced as far back as Ancient Greece (Plato & Jowett, 1990). Also inseparable from this discussion are the reactions that new and particularly revolutionary technologies cause in individuals and society, typically alternating between enthusiasm with mass adherence (e.g. television; mobile phones) and concerns associated with the alienation that these instruments might induce, demonstrated by the dystopian scenarios often conveyed by science fiction. Gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) 1 embraced the Internet from a very early stage as a means of easy and uncomplicated access to sexual partners and remain eager users of cyberspace for that purpose (Bolding, Davis, Hart, Sherr & Elford, 2005; Frankland et al., 2008; Mettey, Crosby, DiClemente & Holtgrave, 2003; Pitts, Smith, Mitchell & Patel, 2007). I propose to explore specific aspects of how that reality is experienced by these men in the context of the centuries-long discussion about technologically induced change. 1 MSM, gay men and other equivalent expressions will be used throughout this dissertation interchangeably according to the context of what is being discussed or the source reference cited
17 4 My research was initially inspired by the growing body of evidence about the possible connections between using the Internet to meet sexual partners, or online sexual networking, and sexual risk behaviours (Adam, Murphy & de Wit, 2011; Fernández-Dávila & Zaragoza Lorca, 2011; Klausner, Wolf, Fisher-Ponce & Katz, 2000; Liau, Millett & Marks, 2006; McFarlane, Bull & Rietmeijer, 2000; McKirnan, Houston & Tolou-Shams, 2007). To investigate whether a similar connection existed amongst Portuguese MSM I collaborated in the conduct of an initial exploratory study, based on one about MSM in New York City who used the Internet to seek sexual partners for sex without condoms (Carballo-Diéguez, Ventuneac, Bauermeister, Dowsett, Dolezal, et al., 2009; Nodin, Valera, Ventuneac, Maynard & Carballo-Diéguez, 2011). However, this exploratory study revealed that no such connection was evident in our sample of Portuguese men who used the Internet to seek sexual partners (Nodin, Leal & Carballo-Diéguez, in press). The research was then repositioned by focusing on the psychological aspect of Internet-mediated change. More specifically, we became interested in investigating whether using the Internet to meet sexual partners has had an influence on MSM s perception of themselves and on their perceptions of others, which became the core topic of the research I will be presenting and discussing. Despite a growing body of sociological research about this area of Internet-related phenomena (e.g. Barraket & Henry-Waring, 2008; Davis, Hart, Bolding, Sherr & Elford, 2006; Quiroz, 2013), only a limited number of studies have addressed it from a psychological perspective. This topic of research is pertinent from a clinical perspective, as increasingly individuals use the Internet to seek emotional and sexual partnerships and these experiences are becoming embedded in processes of identity exploration, as they open up spaces for discovery of oneself that would be harder if not impossible to explore elsewhere (Turkle, 1995). Therefore, and importantly for Clinical Psychology, the Internet and the experiences it allows raise questions about the extent to which using technological tools fundamentally changes the experience of the self and the ways in which we interact with others, both onand offline. With this as a background, my research questions were: Has online sexual networking influenced MSM s perception of themselves and of others? If there is such an influence, what is the nature of these changes? And, finally, which specific aspects of the online sexual networking experience and site-user characteristics are associated with perceived impact upon the self? To answer these questions I collaborated in the conduct of three additional studies (Studies 1-3) that along with the Exploratory Study mentioned above make up the empirical core of this dissertation. Study 1, Sexual use of the Internet: Perceived impact on MSM s views of self and others (Nodin, Carballo-Diéguez & Leal, 2013), was a qualitative study to investigate the first and second research questions by exploring a group of MSM s
18 5 narratives about if and how they perceived online sexual networking to have affected different aspects of themselves or their perceptions of others. The findings of this study were then used to develop an online survey, which included a scale to assess various aspects of men s experiences of using the Internet to meet sexual partners: the Sexual Use of the Internet Scale (SUIS). In Study 2, Validation of a scale assessing perceptions, processes and preferences of using the Internet to meet sexual partners among MSM (Nodin, Leal & Carballo-Diéguez, submitted a), the factor analysis of the SUIS was presented and its psychometric qualities were evaluated. This showed that the SUIS includes two sub-scales specifically about the perceived impact of online sexual networking, namely Positive impact of the Internet and Negative impact of the Internet. The SUIS was then applied to address the third research question, presented in Study 3, Meeting sexual Partners online: A study of MSM s Perceptions of Self-change using the Sexual Use of the Internet Scale (SUIS) (Nodin, Leal & Carballo-Diéguez, submitted b). Dissertation structure The first part of this dissertation covers the literature review. In it, I start by reviewing the history and perspectives regarding the impact of technology on society and individuals, to contextualise the analysis. From there, I move on to cyberspace, defining the concept and briefly presenting the history of the Internet, and then discuss some of the psychological implications of the online experience. This is followed by an examination of the theories and research about the extent to which the Internet might be affecting people in regard to their cognition, sociability and identity. I then review the concept and practices associated with online dating and online sexual networking, as well as the research into how they might affect those who use them. The literature review still includes an overview of the reasons for choosing MSM as the target study group and ends with a discussion of the reasons why this research is relevant. The methods section then describes in detail the different processes, methods and instruments that were used in the qualitative phase of the research and in its quantitative phase. The four studies that support my thesis are then presented. Finally, I discuss the findings from all the studies and make conclusions based on the findings and research process, including the limitations, and make suggestions of further research. Additional materials such as the research instruments used are included as appendices, as are the studies and papers produced during the research process. Despite not being a part of this dissertation these studies and papers were valuable elements that helped shape it; they are referenced and discussed throughout the text where appropriate.
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20 7 Literature review
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22 9 1. Of technology and its impact Technology wasn t created by us humans. Rather the other way around (Lyotard, 1991, p.12) The word technology comes from the Greek technē, meaning art or skill, and logos, meaning word or speech (Buchanan, 2010). There is no consensus about how to define technology (Arthur, 2009; Nusselder, 2009). The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines it as the application of scientific knowledge to the practical aims of human life or, as it is sometimes phrased, to the change and manipulation of the human environment (Buchanan, 2010) whereas Wikipedia offers a more elaborate definition: making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems, and methods of organization, in order to solve a problem, improve a pre-existing solution to a problem, achieve a goal, handle an applied input/output relation or perform a specific function, complementing it with yet another, broader but more concise definition: the entities, both material and immaterial, created by the application of mental and physical effort in order to achieve some value ( Technology, n.d.). Mitcham (1994), an authority on the topic of technology, simply defines it as the making and using of artefacts (p.1). There is considerable debate about animal s use of tools and about the ways by which theirs compare with humans (e.g. Boesch, 2003; Penn, Holyoak & Povinelli, 2008; Stout & Chaminade, 2007) with recent findings underlying the continuities more than the differences (Gowlett, 2009). The history of technology encompasses human evolution (Buchanan, 2010). In fact, it is impossible to conceive of humanity without the technological landscape in which humans have developed and which has been an essential part of their history. Technologies as basic as the wheel or as sophisticated as nuclear power stations; as niche as a diamond lasercutter or as pervasive as the pen; as devoid of a physical existence as a piece of software or as solid as a skyscraper; as life-saving as a pace-maker or as irrelevant as a tamagotshi; all have their part to play and impact on the existence of millions of people around the globe. Even groups that reject modern technologies, like the Amish in the USA, live in highly
23 10 technological environments made of a diverse range of artefacts, agricultural instruments and techniques, etc. (e.g. Wetmore, 2007). Arthur (2009) described technology as this thing that fades to the background of our world but also creates that world (p.10), thus emphasising its ubiquitous presence that has become something second-nature, often unquestioned and taken for granted. Mitcham (1994) described the use of the term technology as applying to four categories: artefacts (e.g. bricks, telephones, guns); activity used for making and using those artefacts (e.g. invention, creation, manufacture); knowledge that allows the production of artefacts (e.g. theories, models, laws); and finally volition (e.g. aims, desires, intentions). In turn Carr (2010) described four categories of technological achievement: extending physical strength, dexterity or resilience (e.g. the plough, the fighter jet); extending the range of sensitivity of the senses (e.g. the telephone, the magnifying glass, the stethoscope); reshaping nature to serve humans needs or desires (e.g. the birth control, the dam); and extending or supporting mental abilities, including the memory, the ability to calculate and to measure (e.g. the clock, the map, the sextant, the Internet). Postman (1992) pointed out that taxonomies of historical eras are often based on the technological achievements that marked them. He lists, among others, the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Steel Age; the Industrial revolution and the Post-industrial revolution; the Eotechnic, the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic eras. He then proposed his own technologybased classification of cultures, but not eras: Tool-using cultures, Technocracies and Technopolies. Tool-using cultures are described as those for which technology is not seen as autonomous, and is subject to the jurisdiction of some binding social or religious system (p.24); Technocracies are those in which tools play a central role in the thought-world of the culture (p.28), i.e., they become dominant in society to the point of attacking and attempting to replace traditions, social mores, politics and religion; and, finally, Technopolies are totalitarian technocracies which redefine the very meaning of things like art, family, religion, history or privacy, rendering them invisible and therefore irrelevant (p.48) and subject to the agenda of technological development. Postman was indeed a leading voice in late 20 th Century techno-scepticism, criticising the way that technology has gained a primary and, in his view, undesirable role in modern societies. We will return to some of his views in light of the debate around the possible impact of technology on humanity. Some authors have, however, taken a less critical tone, and claimed that technology has developed alongside Humankind in a symbiotic relationship, through which both have gained and grown (Heim, 1991) or, in the words of Clark (2003) [w]e exist, as the thinking things we are, only thanks to a baffling dance of brains, bodies, and cultural and technological scaffolding (Clark, 2003, p.11).
24 11 Other authors have gone further, and suggested an agency to technology, considering it to evolve independently of human intention (Arthur, 2009; Kelly, 2010). Kelly (2010) proposed that technology should be included in the general classification of living creatures as an extension of the human branch, arguing that artefacts follow a certain Darwinian pattern of evolution. For him, technology, like galaxies and biological organisms, follows a trend of increasing and accelerating complexity over time. According to his views, technology is a sort of semi-autonomous brain child of humans that we should parent to help it evolve in adequate ways. McLuhan (1964) had previously contributed a similar viewpoint by claiming that humans are the sex organs of machines, therefore acting as mere agents in their reproduction until they gain the ability to reproduce themselves. As some of these ideas illustrate, the relationship between technology and humans has been a topic of interest for philosophers and researchers for a long time. Their reflections form relevant background to my research, which explores the tight links between the tools people use, in this case online dating and sexual networking websites, and the humans that use them. In the next section I will review some of the ways these links have been conceptualised throughout Western history, particularly regarding the potential impact of technologies on humans, with a focus on contemporary discourses and analyses. This will be followed by a closer exploration of the debate between those who are enthusiasts of this impact and those who, like Postman (1992), believe it should be a matter of concern History Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. (Clarke, 1961, p.36) In a passage of Plato s Phaedrus, the advantages of writing as an aid to memory and wisdom are discussed against its possible negative outcomes (Plato & Jowett, 1990), an oftcited first reference to the concerns surrounding the impact of a new technology (Carr, 2011; Postman, 1992; Thompson, 2013). In that passage, it is argued that writing is good for reminding but not for not remembering and is said to cloud the distinction between information and real wisdom, with adverse consequences for society. Another technological innovation created over a 1000 years later would come to be considered one of the most influential technologies of all times, alongside writing itself (McLuhan, 1962). The Guttenberg press had a profound impact, initially in Europe and later in the rest of the world, by allowing the speedy production of books that until then required hand copying and were available only to the elite (Buchanan, 2010). The cultural, social and religious ramifications and impact of the invention of the printing press, spreading onto the advent of the Protestant Reformation, the Renaissance, and the scientific revolution, were
25 12 analysed in detail by Eisenstein in The printing press as an agent of change (1979). McLuhan (1962) also considered the printing press to have allowed the onset of a new era for humankind (the Guttenberg Galaxy) by enhancing and speeding up cultural and cognitive changes that had been developing at a slower pace since the invention of the alphabet. However, despite the general enthusiasm with which the invention of the printing press was received, its potential impact was not necessarily anticipated at the time. In fact, [t]here is considerable irony about the enthusiastic reception accorded to printing by the Church. Heralded on all sides as a peaceful art, Gutenberg's invention probably contributed more to destroying Christian concord and inflaming religious warfare than the so-called arts of war ever did (Eisenstein, 1979, p.155). In 1627, Francis Bacon s novel New Atlantis put forward the idea of a utopian society ruled by science and technology, allowing the control of nature to improve society and the life of its members (Bacon, 1627/1990). Later, the 19 th Century witnessed the unfolding of the Industrial Revolution, made possible by the mechanisation of production and its technological advancements, which was seen as the coming into being of the realities envisioned by Bacon and others. However, industrialisation and mass production had a deep impact on the lives of many and changed urban, as well as rural landscapes, not necessarily for the better. The Luddite movement ( ) was possibly one of the most notorious reactions against this process. Originated in Nottingham, England, but quickly spreading to other locations, it was led by a group of artisans who destroyed the textile machines that they felt were displacing them from their work ( Luddite, 2010). The movement was eventually repressed by force, but the name Luddite remains synonymous with anti-technological views to this day. In fact, a Neo-Luddite movement was established at the end of the 20 th Century, serving as an umbrella designation for a wide range of ideologies advocating the abandonment of new technologies such as the Internet or mobile telephones, and a return to simpler living (Jones, 2006). The new realities, both technological and social, generated by the Industrial Revolution were prone to reflection by leading 19 th Century intellectuals about the possible effects of technology upon humans. Karl Marx wrote several notebooks about technology (Wendling, 2009) and in the first volume of Capital: Critique of political economy he discussed how machines used for production alienated workers (Marx, Engels, Moore & Marx, 1952). However, Marx s views on technology were complex and some scholars have highlighted that he was by no means a Luddite: rather than being against technology he was against a system that used machines to exploit instead of benefiting humankind (Cotter, 2013; Dyer-Witheford, 1999). A contemporary but different reflexion on the impact of machines on people came from Nietzsche, as a consequence of his having to use a typewriter due to his progressive
26 13 loss of sight. The philosopher reflected on this process in his work Our writing instruments contribute to our thoughts (1882) and indeed Kittler (2006) has argued that after starting to use the typewriter, Nietzsche s writing changed from arguments to aphorisms, from thoughts to puns, from rhetoric to telegram style (p.203) Early and mid 20 th Century The medium is the massage (McLuhan, 1967) Heavily influenced by Nietzsche s oeuvre, Martin Heidegger is considered to be one of the leading 20th Century thinkers about technology. Ontological in his approach, Heidegger s main concern was the extent to which the essence of man was being contaminated by technology. For this author, the technological viewpoint considered nature, including humans, as resources to be exploited, reducing beings to non-beings, therefore ultimately reorganising our perception of reality (Heidegger, 1977). Heidegger was not alone in his critique, and has been linked with thinkers from the Frankfurt School, including Adorno, Horkheimer and Marcuse. For them, the progressive domination of nature equated an instrumental and exploitative view of man by man, therefore becoming a source of social organization and control (Kellner, 1997). According to Marcuse, [i]n the course of the technological process a new rationality and new standards of individuality have spread over society, different from and even opposed to those which initiated the march of technology (Marcuse & Kellner, 1998, p.41). Marcuse further suggested that the forces of rationalisation and technocracy ( the technological truth ) have subdued individuality and free will, to the point where even dissident voices are framed within those same forces without awareness thereof or the possibility of autonomy or escape (Marcuse & Kellner, 1998). In spite of not having written extensively on the issue of technology, Freud, in Civilization and its discontents, also briefly assessed what technologies such as railway or the telephone have brought to the modern world, and concluded that the negative consequences he discerned (separation from loved ones, a longer life full of suffering) might not justify their existence (Freud & Dickson, 1985). Others within the early psychoanalytical movement, like Tausk (1933), tried to understand the ways by which machines often became relevant elements in the delusions of schizophrenics. He believed that these delusions translated a need to rationalise internal feelings of strangeness and transformation (Tylim, 2012). A key figure in technology and media discourses in the 20 th Century, Marshall McLuhan, analysed the historical evolution of technologies and concluded that each new
27 14 revolutionary technology brings about changes in society that are progressively faster with each new technology (from writing to movable print to electronic media) (McLuhan, 1962). One of the core ideas of his book The Guttenberg Galaxy is that communication technology affects dimensions such as perception and cognition and consequently has a societal impact (McLuhan, 1962). This idea was distilled in his famous principle the medium is the message, which can be interpreted as suggesting that the format of any communication technology (e.g. television, printed books or the telephone) is more relevant and has a more critical impact upon society than its content (e.g. news, entertainment or advertisement) (McLuhan, 1964). McLuhan later reformulated and further refined this idea in his book The medium is the massage, in which he inventoried the effects of the medium (the massage it provides) over the senses and posited that each medium has different effects over the human organs of sense (McLuhan, 1967). Carr s reading of McLuhan is that [a]s our window onto the world, and onto ourselves, a popular medium molds what we see and how we see it and eventually, if we use it enough, it changes who we are, as individuals and as a society (Carr, 2010, p.2). Although his influence faded after his death in 1980, McLuhan was rediscovered later as his ideas regained relevance in light of contemporary media analyses and have been used at length for that purpose, even if not without criticism (Debray, 1996; Horrocks, 2000) Late 20 th and early 21 st Centuries To wear a device as powerful as the Apple Watch makes you ever so slightly posthuman (Grossman & Vella, 2014, p.32) Baudrillard (1983) criticised the overall replacement of the symbolic with the immediacy delivered by communication and information technologies. He qualified this immediacy as obscene, emerging when all becomes transparence and immediate visibility, when everything is exposed to the harsh and inexorable light of information and communication (Baudrillard, 1983, p.130). Therefore, for Baudrillard this obscene is not of the same nature as that traditionally associated with pornography, often hidden from sight, on the contrary, it is the obscenity of the visible, of the all-too-visible, of the more-visiblethan-visible. It is the obscenity of what no longer has any secret, of what dissolves completely in information and communication (p.131). Virilio is another influential theorist who wrote extensively about the effects of technology, and particularly of media, on society. One of the ways he did this was by analysing the effects of the live television coverage of the first Gulf War ( ), with his interests later expanding to include how new communication technologies cause radical
28 15 changes in the ways we experience the world by deeply altering the nature of distance and hence causing the disappearance of the horizon (Virilio, 1997, p.40). He also discussed the effects of these technologies on our memory and ways of thinking, postulating that they bring about the loss of the possibility of some kind of interpretation, which will be coupled with a sharp loss of memory, or rather, with the flourishing of a paradoxical immediate memory linked to the all-powerful nature of the image (Virilio, 1997, pp.25 26). Virilio coined the term dromology, the science or logic of speed, and claimed that acceleration is central to the transformation of the modern world (Virilio, 1986). He believed that speed has a transformative potential, and the speedier the event, the more it will allow the possibility of something new, different and potentially catastrophic to happen. For instance, he discussed how technologies carry with them the possibility of the accident: with the invention of the ship, the train, the aeroplane, the nuclear power station, we simultaneously invented the shipwreck, the derailment, the plane crash and Chernobyl (Virilio, 1995, p.3). According to Virilio, the speedier the technology the more intense the effect: When we speculate about the dangers of accidents on the information superhighways, the issue is not the information but the absolute speed of its processing by computer technology (p.4). Other perspectives have analysed the ways in which technologies are connected in closer ways to humans, therefore changing our very nature. One of these perspectives considers artefacts and indeed all objects within human reach as extensions of people (Nodin, 2009). One of the first thinkers to suggest this was John Locke in 1689 in his discussion over property rights. He proposed that by mixing objects with labour these objects gain the same rights as those of the body of the labourer (Locke & Laslett, 1988). Later, Freud through his own conceptual lens made analogous suggestions about the appropriation of external elements into the realm of the mind, and therefore of the human (Freud & Dickson, 1985). Another thought-provoking way in which the close connections between humans and artefacts have been conceptualised has been through the metaphor of the cyborg, particularly as envisioned by Haraway in her Cyborg Manifesto, in which she defined the cyborg as a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction (Haraway, 1991, p.149), and the scholarly literature that it inspired (Bell, 2007). The word cyborg was originally coined by Clynes and Kline (1960) in relation to the possible use of self-regulating technological systems to help humans survive in space. However, the cyborg is perhaps better known in its science fiction materializations of an amalgamated man machine creature portrayed in films like The Terminator (Daly, Gibson, Hurd & Cameron, 1984) or Robocop (Schmidt & Verhoeven, 1987).
29 16 Haraway s project was, in essence, feminist. She saw the cyborg as a way to move past binary views of gender and away from seminal discourses, such as those of Christianity or Psychoanalysis, that conceive women as inferior to men. For Haraway, with the cyborg [t]he dichotomies between mind and body, animal and human, organism and machine, public and private, nature and culture, men and women, primitive and civilized are all in question ideologically (Haraway, 1991, p.163). Haraway s strong image and metaphor of the machine human hybrid and her questioning of boundaries is in line with a different way of thinking about the relationship between humans and technology, not only from a purely physical point of view, but also from a psychological one. Echoing Haraway, Stone wrote that many of the usual analytical categories have become unreliable for making the usual distinctions between the biological and the technological, the natural and artificial, the human and mechanical, to which we have become accustomed (Stone, 1991, p.101). Many other authors have since formulated similar ideas. For Turkle, the self is multiple, fluid, and constituted in interaction with machine connections (Turkle, 1995, p.15). In Carr s words [t]he tight bonds we form with our tools go both ways. Even as our technologies become extensions of ourselves, we become extensions of our technologies (Carr, 2010, p.209), and Tylim discusses the techno-body, one that cannot anymore be described as purely organic, and its organization attains a technological status (Tylim, 2012, p.474). All of these perspectives may ultimately be linked to one of the main interests of postmodernity that of identity and its fractured boundaries, particularly in relation with gender, sexuality and technology (Angerer, 1999; Heim, 1991; van Doorn, 2011). From a cognitive perspective, others have suggested that humans may actively be using technologies as external resources of the mind. For instance Mitchell suggested that we rely on the machine intelligence (Mitchell, 2003, p.35) embedded in mobile phones, cars, domestic appliances, operating systems, and software. The branch of cognitive science that studies this premise is called Distributed Cognition (Salomon, 1993), but similar ideas have also been explored under designations such as Active Externalism (Clark & Chalmers, 1998) and Collective Intelligence (Lévy, 1997). According to Clark and Chalmers [i]f, as we confront some task, a part of the world functions as a process which, were it done in the head, we would have no hesitation in recognizing as part of the cognitive process, then part of the world is (so we claim) part of the cognitive process (Clark & Chalmers, 1998, p.8). What many of these theories have in common is that they claim that we are already cyborgs of sorts, incorporating artefacts and features of the external world into our bodies and minds. This approach moves the discussion from a view that regards humans as being passively affected by technology to one in which we have a truly dynamic merger between flesh, thought and machine.
30 The debate Modern technology is like a Great Dane in a small apartment. It may be friendly, but you still want to make sure there s nothing breakable within reach. (Pool, 2003, p.15) The tensions between acknowledging the positive impact of technology and the concerns about its negative consequences, as illustrated by the various discourses and analyses reviewed, have possibly been present since humans started to think reflectively about created artefacts. For instance, while machines were often seen during the Modern Age as the solution to many of humankind s problems, at the same time fear of alienation has also been present as demonstrated by the positions of Heidegger or Marcuse and by the extreme reactions of the Luddites. But even early proponents of the technologically-induced alienation argument like Marx were ambivalent about technology and capable of identifying some of its possible benefits for humankind. Positioning himself clearly in the debate, Postman (1992) argued that the world is full of one-eyed prophets who will see only what new technologies can do and are incapable of imagining what they can undo. We might call such people technophiles, continuing by saying that, on the other hand, others are inclined to speak only of burdens ( ) and are silent about the opportunities that new technologies make possible. The Technophiles must speak for themselves, and do so all over the place. My defence is that a dissenting voice is sometimes needed to moderate the din made by the enthusiastic multitudes (Postman, 1992, p.5). Therefore, despite his techno-scepticism, Postman recognises that there isn t only one side to the discussion ( Every technology is both a burden and a blessing; not either-or, but this-and-that, p.5) but chooses to give voice to the side that he considers to be less visible. However, by reviewing the history of the discourses about technology s impact on society, there seems to be a clearer techno-sceptic, if not full blown technophobic trend that accompanies the whole discussion about the effects of technology in society, from Plato to Virilio. A lively technophile stream certainly exists in today s world, much motivated by the progress achieved in communication technologies, including mobile telephony, increased Internet availability and connection speeds as well as social media. This side of the debate has its own visionaries, such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and the founders of companies like Google and Facebook (Isaacson, 2011; Schmidt & Cohen, 2013). Even if these individuals and groups have not always profoundly reflected on the current and future possibilities raised
31 18 by the same technologies they are responsible for (Grossman, 2010), some voices from within the technophile faction have raised concerns over the social and individual impact of these innovations (Lanier, 2010; Turkle, 2011). Lanier (2010), for instance, who was involved in the initial development of virtual reality interfaces, defended humanity and subjectivity in the context of new technologies. He argued that technologies such as the Internet and diverse pieces of software, with their rigid designs, standardise people s experiences and ultimately existences. Therefore he posited that [t]he digital hive is growing at the expense of individuality (Lanier, 2010, p.26), and discussed how this is a consequence of the ideas of a few which have a great impact upon many: It takes only a tiny group of engineers to create technology that can shape the entire future of human experience with incredible speed (Lanier, 2010, p.5). Sides have also been taken in discussions about the future of humanity in light of technologic progress. On one side we find the cyborg vision of Haraway (1991), one that embraces a post-humanist condition in which machine is conceived as integrative with humanity, a source of pleasure and an object of desire. In Haraway s words, [t]he machine is not an it to be animated, worshipped, and dominated. The machine is us, our processes, an aspect of our embodiment. (Haraway, 1991, p.180). Alongside Haraway, others, like Kurtzweill (2005) and Stock (2003), are apologists for post-humanism, although they move beyond the metaphor and effectively advocate technologically-mediated change to humans. Kurtzweill (2006) predicts the near future of humankind and believes we will be able to accomplish the virtual elimination of disease, dramatic expansion of human potential, and radical life extension (p.40) as well as wireless communication from one brain to another (p.41), among other phenomena, facilitated by advancements and the convergence of genetics, nanotechnology and robotics technologies, over the next few decades. Clark (2003) makes an argument for considering biotechnological alterations to humans as an ultimate expression of humanity itself, postulating that [w]hat makes us distinctively human is our capacity to continually restructure and rebuild our own mental circuitry, courtesy of an empowering web of culture, education, technology, and artefacts (p.10). On the other side of this discussion we find the grim post-humanity envisioned by authors such as Heidegger (1977) with his view of beings transformed into non-beings due to contamination by technology, or Fukuyama (2002) who dreads the coming into existence of new entities that are no longer recognisable as human, products of processes such as bioengineering or cloning. For Fukuyama, this post-human existence will arrive as biotechnologies continue to evolve in the context of a lack of an ethically sound framework and regulatory bodies, already a reality in industrialised societies, with disastrous consequences (Fukuyama, 2002). Winner (2002), another fierce critic of the post-humanists,
32 19 is concerned about their proposals and research placing homo sapiens on the list of endangered species list (p.35). He also criticises the post-humanists interest in improving traits of intelligence, strength, beauty, physical health and longevity, which contrasts with their lack of sensitivity towards the social dimensions of humans. Additionally Lyotard discussed the future of humankind in light of the predicted death of the sun (in approximately 4.5 billion years) and therefore of Earth and all life on it (Lyotard, 1991). This led him to question the possibility of human thought carrying on without a body and of the technological endeavours that might allow this to happen. Lyotard argued against the idea that a machine could carry human thought in this scenario, as machines think in a binary fashion that is unlike the more flexible and intuitive ways that humans do. He also considered that thought is embedded in suffering, which means that any machines for carrying human thought would need to suffer from the burden of memory (p.20), as well as to experience the irremediable difference of gender (p.22). These, he contends, are basic conditions of humanity, which, however, are not in the best favour of techno-science that considers them counter-productive and therefore redundant. As Sim (2001) points out, Lyotard s anti-inhuman position expresses concerns with a world progressively driven by the forces of science and technological development, which value mechanisation and efficiency of production at the expense of the difference that defines human beings who will ultimately be rendered superfluous in this process. The inhuman has indeed already infiltrated our daily existence to quite a remarkable degree in the sense of the supersession of the human by the technological (Sim, 2001, p.6) and [w]e may decide it is more appropriate to fear, resist, welcome, actively encourage or perhaps just simply tolerate the inhuman; but one thing is certain we cannot avoid it (p.7). Tylim (2012) also aligns with this view and affirms: the twenty-first century may be remembered as the century of the World War against machines that threaten to dethrone humanism (p.472). There is however middle ground to this debate. For instance, for some "[e]lectronics is neither the arrival of apocalypse nor the dispensation of grace. Technology is technology; it is a means for communication and transportation over space, and nothing more" (Carey, 1992, p.139). Or, as Buchanan suggested, just as it was naive for the 19th-century optimists to imagine that technology could bring paradise on Earth, it seems equally simplistic for the 20th-century pessimists to make technology itself a scapegoat for man's shortcomings (Buchanan, 2010). A seminal paper by Pinch and Bijker (1984) set the conceptual structure for reading technology as a social construction, and therefore devoid of any sort of determinism. For these authors, in order to understand technology one needs to understand the meanings that relevant social groups place on specific artifacts (Pinch & Bijker, 1984, p.414). Therefore
33 20 and importantly, the model they proposed, the Social Construction of Technology (or SCOT), posits that it is not technology that determines human behavior, but vice versa. This social constructivist view of technology is not without its critics, namely Nusselder (2009) who points that putting social actors at the centre of technological progress falls into the same deterministic trap that it tries to counter, while it simultaneously disregards the unconscious and unintentional aspects of technological production and usage Cultural views of technology Dystopian fiction doesn't make people fear technology technology makes people fear technology (Maloney, 2014) No discussion of the historical and theoretical views of the relationship between technology and society would be complete without a reference to the discourses of the machine within culture, particularly in literature and cinema. For a long time science fiction has provided narratives encompassing sophisticated technologies that, more than improbable tales of an imaginary future, often reflect concerns about the present (Booker, 2001; Maloney, 2014). At least since the 19 th Century that literature has produced works that reflect the uneasiness caused by the manipulation of humanity through science or technology, of which some well known titles are Mary Shelley s Frankenstein (1818/1994), Aldous Huxley s Brave new world (1932/1946), George Orwell s 1984 (1949), or Antony Burgess s A clockwork orange (1963). In spite of being quite diverse in their styles, storylines and in the worlds they portray, all of these books tell dystopian tales about the use of tools to control human behaviour and even life itself, with potential negative consequences, echoing concerns surrounding technological progress. Futuristic cinema also includes abundant dystopian storylines, such as those found in Metropolis (Pommer & Lang, 1927), 2001: A space odyssey (Stanley Kubrik, 1968) or I, Robot (Mark, Davis, Dow, Godfrey & Proyas, 2004), in which sentient computers and machines either control or are used to control and dominate humans, vividly reflecting anxieties about technology and its potential to command our lives. Others, like The Matrix (Silver, Wachowski & Wachowski, 1999) and existenz (Cronenberg, Hámori, Lantos & Cronenberg, 1999) question the boundaries of what is real in the context of immersive virtual reality technologies. For instance, in existenz, players of a game console that links directly to the nervous system enter a realistic gaming experience, eventually losing the ability to judge whether they re inside or outside the game. In Until the end of the world (Felsberg & Wenders, 1991), people become addicted to a device that allows them to see their dreams
34 21 on a screen, progressively becoming disconnected from one another in order to become increasingly self-absorbed and spend time in that activity. All of these stories can be read as reflecting the fears of alienation that various modern technologies may have on individuals and society (Turkle, 1996; Tylim, 2012). Finally, Her (Ellison, Jonze, Landay & Jonze, 2013) pictures a near-future scenario in which intelligent operating systems become people s best friends and lovers. Its story of lonely people finding company and comfort in their devices not only links with the topic of alienation and isolation mentioned above, but also addresses the question asked by Turkle when discussing relational artefacts, such as pet robots: in a world in which machines present themselves as emotional, what is left for us? (Turkle, 2004, p.27). In other words, what remains human when machines can mimic emotion to the point of eluding our own emotions, a question poignantly asked in Artificial intelligence (Kennedy, Spielberg, Curtis & Spielberg, 2001) in which the artificial love of a humanoid robot boy for his human mother leads him on a quest for her that transcends humanity s very existence? Furthermore, what does this need for attachment with smart and sensitive objects tell of our very human nature? Science fiction may not deliver answers, but it will ask questions about human identity and sociability in a progressively more technological world. 2. The dawn of the Internet We will adjust to cyberspace far more easily than cyberspace will adjust to us. (Novak, 1991, p.239) The Internet as we know it today is the product of the confluence of diverse historical contexts and technical achievements (Castells, 1996; Dery, 1996; Seel, 2012) that are beyond the scope of this analysis. I will, however, provide a very brief overview of its history as it provides relevant context to this study, before focusing on the domains of experience it has opened up and on its potential psychological impact on humans. Initially developed in 1969 by the Department of Defence of the USA, with the Cold War and the technical competition with the Soviets in the background, the Internet was conceived as a fail-proof communication system in case of a nuclear war (Castells, 1996). The ARPANET, as it was then called, was devised as a network of computers that communicated with each other via telephone lines by breaking down information into smaller packages that were then sent by multiple routes to be reassembled at the point of destination, the same principle that still governs it today. Since its very early stages, this network was also linked with universities and research centres, initially in the United States, but later also in Europe. Its potential for sharing ideas and facilitating communication led to a
35 22 growing adoption and usage within academia, soon making this its main use (Rheingold, 2000). Worried about security breaches, the US military decided to abandon the network it had created, leaving it to its predominantly civilian uses, and developed its own independent communication network in the early 1980s (Castells, 1996; Seel, 2012). By the early 1990s, after exponential growth in use from organisations, individuals and businesses, the Internet was a massive network of connections between computers organised in the form of the World Wide Web ( a hypertext-based system that enables users around the globe to point and click from one multimedia site to another, Dery, 1996, p.6). Today the Internet is used by over 2.5 billion people (ITU, 2013) for the most varied reasons, from research to entertainment, from work to social interchange. It is also a medium of media, progressively engulfing previous technologies like the telephone, the television or the video recorder, as prophesised by McLuhan years before it had even been developed: The next medium, whatever it is it may be the extension of consciousness will include television as its content, not as its environment, and will transform television into an art form. A computer as a research and communication instrument could enhance retrieval, obsolesce mass library organization, retrieve the individual's encyclopedic function and flip into a private line to speedily tailored data of a saleable kind (McLuhan, 1962, in Horrocks, 2000, p.52-53). In many ways, the Internet can be considered to be the ultimate artefact or, using Daniel Bell s terminology, an intellectual technology (Bell, 1973). According to Rheingold, the Internet is the latest phase in a long sequence of mental changes brought about by the invention and widespread use of symbolic tools (Rheingold, 2000, p.150). Others have used the metaphor of a collective skin to describe the Internet, associated with the fantasy of taking part in an immaterial and collective body (Romano, 2000) or as a return to a symbiotic relationship with an Other in which the deluge of semblances seems to abolish the dimension of the Real (Zizek, 2004, p.803). The virtual dimension of the online experience is captured in the word cyberspace, a term originally coined in science fiction (Gibson, 1984), which has been described as a globally networked, computer-sustained, computer-accessed, and computer generated, multidimensional, artificial, or virtual reality. In this reality, to which every computer is a window, seen or heard objects are neither physical nor, necessarily, representations of physical objects but are, rather, in form, character and action, made up of data, of pure information (Benedikt, 1991, p.122 3). If this is a very accurate but matter-of-fact definition, a better-fitting one has been proposed by Barlow (cit. by Elmer-DeWitt, 1995) as the place where you are when you are on the phone. By removing the visual element (of the computer or smartphone screen) from the equation, this description underlines cyberspace ontology as
36 23 the experience of being beyond space, neither here nor there; yet somewhere real even if not palpable. Similarly, Clark (2003) described people on a city street around him talking on the phone and texting as not being entirely where they seem to be (p.9). Therefore, by framing online (including telephone) communication in this way, these authors render the very use of space in cyberspace problematic. As Nusselder (2009) put it, we should avoid considering cyberspace as an objective fact or objective information. It is a product of human imagination, in which we use known metaphors for a new domain of information and communication (p.17). This is not in itself a new idea and it has been formulated in different ways. Heim (1991), for instance, defined cyberspace as a metaphysical laboratory, a tool for examining our very sense of reality (p.59), and for Novak (1991), very simply, [c]yberspace is a habitat for the imagination (p.225). In addition, several authors have stressed the psychological and emotional reality of communicating with others on the Internet, arguing how online experiences are often lived as real by its users, including but not only romantic interactions and game playing (Ben-Ze ev, 2004; Turkle, 1995). In the context of this debate, the virtual is conceived as an extension of reality, not as its opposite (van Doorn, 2011). While discussing online relationships, Ben- Ze ev (2004) contrasted the ontological sense of the real, meaning the factual experience of an event, with its epistemological sense, which refers to the vividness of the event. For Ben- Ze ev, the Internet offers a low ontological but a high epistemological level of experience, enhanced by the fact that the fantasies developed online involve real interactions with real others Is the Internet changing us? Technology is not a demon (Alapack, Blichfeldt & Elden, 2005, p.60) The number of hours that many people spend in front of the computer or browsing smart phones has raised questions and concerns regarding the extent to which this pervasive experience is changing our lives and ourselves (Carr, 2010; Goren, 2003; Litowitz, 2012; Thompson, 2013; Turkle, 2011; Tylim, 2012). In Goren s formulation, the revolutionary rapidity inherent in many forms of communication today has collapsed the temporal and psychological space between internal and external, between an individual s perceptual and cognitive processing and the expectations for immediate interpersonal communication (Goren, 2003, p.501). In this section I present and discuss some of the theories and research that have
37 24 been developed over the course of the last two decades about Internet-induced change. I start by reviewing material related to Internet-induced cognitive, social and identity change, before moving on to the specific impact of online dating and sexual networking on individuals behaviour and psychosocial functioning. It is relevant to acknowledge that some of the theoretical literature as well as a smaller portion of the research examined are frequently influenced by their authors own attitudes towards technology in general and towards the Internet in particular. Good examples of this are Carr (2010) and Thompson (2013) both using many of the same illustrations, historical examples and references to defend opposite sides of the debate concerning Internet-mediated cognitive change Cognitive change There is little doubt that the Internet is changing our brain. Everything changes our brain. (Lehrer, 2010) A growing body of research discusses how Internet use might affect basic cognitive functions. Claims that online search engines have diminished our ability to think or use memory (Carr, 2010) have been accompanied by lines of research that seem to suggest that people do tend to rely on external resources (like Google) when they cannot recall specific information (Sparrow, Liu and Wegner, 2011; Varshney, 2012). These results seem to be coherent with the principles of Active Externalism (Clark & Chalmers, 1998; Michaelian & Sutton, 2013), suggesting that people are increasingly accessing information online the same way they used their own mental resources before the wider availability of the Internet. Diverse authors agree with this perspective, for instance, when claiming that: [g]iven the physical limits on the memory capacity of the human brain, the internet seems truly to be becoming a working extension of the human mind (Lilford & Chilton, 2011, p.343) or that skulls and skin do not bound mental systems, and through computer networking these systems can now extend indefinitely (Mitchel, 2003, p.36). , instant messaging and blogs, for instance, not only allow people to contact others more efficiently than ever, but they also create a permanent record of conversations, images and information that can be easily accessed when necessary, operating as artificial external memories. However, the enthusiasm that some authors have expressed for the possibilities offered by cyberspace to human cognition contrast with the views of others. These suggest that the Internet is leading to a superficial learning that is not rooted in a deeper understanding of scientific knowledge (Carr, 2010). This is considered to be worrisome particularly in highly specialised fields such as medicine (Olson, 2013). Carr (2010) asserts
38 25 that the Internet provides a convenient and compelling supplement to personal memory, but when we start using the web as a substitute for personal memory, bypassing the inner processes of consolidation, we risk emptying our minds of their riches (p.192). This author is also concerned with the impact of Internet use on attention, which he considers to be one of the potential causes of modern-day decaying memory ( The sharper the attention, the sharper the memory, p.193). Carr has been criticised for his use of anecdotal and inconclusive scientific evidence in his arguments (Lehrer, 2010). However, recent research corroborates some of his views. For example, a study conducted by Alloway and Alloway (2012) has shown that more intense use of social media sites affects how attention is allocated, exhibited as an exploratory-type of engagement with those sites. This means that participants in the study seemed to dedicate similar levels of attention to incoming streams of information and therefore were less likely to ignore distractor stimuli. However, they also found some positive effects of using those sites on specific dimensions of memory. Specifically, they found that checking friend s status updates in Facebook was the best predictor of both verbal and visuo-spatial working memory, that [t]elling a friend to watch a video in YouTube was the best predictor of verbal working memory scores, and also that watching videos online best predicted visuo-spatial working memory (p.1752). Other studies have shown that using social media affects negatively student s educational achievements, with time spent online using those sites predicting low academic outcomes (Junco, 2012; Kirschner & Karpinski, 2010; Paul, Baker & Cochran, 2012). However, while some of these studies have highlighted the students lack of willingness or interest in using such sites for the purpose of academic improvement (Paul, Baker & Cochran, 2012), others have reported that different behaviours on social media sites have different effects on academic achievement (Junco, 2012). Thus, time spent online socialising (e.g. posting status updates or chatting) negatively predicted academic scores, while collecting and sharing information (e.g. sharing and checking on friends status updates) was positively predictive of those scores (Junco, 2012). A positive cognitive effect of information sharing with friends online was confirmed by another study, which also further illuminated the nuanced influence of online behaviour on cognition, by suggesting that using some social media websites (Facebook) was found to be related with positive cognitive outcomes, while using others (Youtube) was not (Alloway, Horton, Alloway & Dawson, 2013). The authors suggest that better performance in some of these cognitive tests could be the result of a training effect, due to shared cognitive mechanisms that underpin these [online] tasks (p.15). Finally, some studies have also found perceived excesses in exposure to information online to be associated with a negative impact on well-being. For example, a cross-cultural
39 26 study (USA, Ireland and South Korea) demonstrated that trouble in controlling social media connection habits was associated with a negative impact on important life activities, stress and affect (LaRose, Connolly, Lee, Li & Hales, 2014). Other research has indicated that higher levels of perceived Internet-based information overload predict negative health indicators (Misra & Stokols, 2012). Taken together, these studies seem to indicate that there are indeed consequences, even if not always of the negative kind, to the demands that a progressively networked world places on people s cognitive abilities. They also suggest that the relationship between the Internet and those who use it is far from simple or one-sided. As Lehrer (2010) has put it in his criticism of Carr s admonitions, [t]he online world has merely exposed the feebleness of human attention, which is so weak that even the most minor temptations are all but impossible to resist. In contrast to Carr s ideas of an Internet-induced superficial memory, fragmented knowledge and broken attention span (Carr, 2010), others argue that using cyberspace allows unprecedented levels of intellectual output and innovation. Rheingold (2003), for instance, analysed the collaborative processes that take place online, using examples like Wikipedia or open-source programming, to discuss the creative potential that online connectivity often facilitates. For Thompson, however, online collaboration and creative thinking leading to crowd wisdom (Thompson, 2013, p.155), such as on Wikipedia, is only possible when a number of conditions are present: a focused problem to solve and a collective of active contributors, including a core of leaders, as well as micro-contributors who add diversity, forming a symbiotic whole (p.161). He also adds that to be smart, an online group needs to incorporate a mass of individuals who have little contact amongst themselves. As suggested above, a portion of the discussions about cognitive change revolve around the collaborative potential of human-to-human interaction. The interactive nature of the Internet has, in some accounts, profoundly changed the way people engage and communicate with each other (Seel, 2012) and has therefore changed the very nature of human relationships Social change On the Internet, nobody knows you re a dog (Steiner, 1993) The Internet is ultimately a powerful tool that allows people to do what they are best programmed to do, which is to communicate with others (Elmer-DeWitt, 1995), except more efficiently than by traditional ways. However, some claim that it has also altered the nature of
40 27 relationships and the way we communicate. For instance, Broadbent (2012) discussed the way that digital communication technologies have fragmented place-based ties ( ) in favour of interest-based connections created remotely, independent of physical proximity (p.128) thus allowing an expansion of social landscapes. Authors like Rheingold (2003) and Thompson (2013), as discussed above, have extensively argued that the Internet allows for levels of collaboration that are unprecedented in human history. Rheingold (2003) put forward the concept of smart mobs, people who are able to act in concert even if they don t know each other and who cooperate in ways never before possible because they carry devices that possess both communication and computational capabilities (p.xii), and emphasises the positive aspects of these new forms of collaboration. However, this field of discussion and research is also torn by diverging views about the potential impact of the Internet on social interactions. For instance, Turkle, capsizing her previous optimism about the effects of new technologies and mediated identities online, (Turkle, 1995) published on the negative impact of extensive use of social networking sites such as Facebook and of texting on human interactions (Turkle, 2011). The ongoing discussion between sides of the argument led Pollet, Roberts and Dunbar (2011) to conclude that the research in this area can be split into two camps, which have been described as cyberpessimists and cyberoptimists (p.253). An influential article by Kraut et al. (1998) presented the results from a longitudinal study about the social and psychological impact of the Internet. It found that greater use of the Internet was associated with declines in social involvement and with increased loneliness and depression. The authors called this phenomenon the Internet paradox and posited that the Internet can be both highly entertaining and useful, but if it causes too much disengagement from real life, it can also be harmful, concluding that [u]ntil the technology evolves to be more beneficial, people should moderate how much they use the Internet and monitor the uses to which they put it (p.1030). These results seemed to confirm earlier predictions, according to which [a]s the virtual social space of the various networks increases, so will the real social spaces of America decay and implode (Hughes, 1995, p.70). However, in a later follow-up study, Kraut et al. found that the negative effects in their previous research had dissipated (Kraut et al., 2002). Dimensions such as local and distant social circles, face-to-face communication, community involvement, trust in people and positive affect scored high, while the stress levels score was the only remaining negative effect of Internet use. Some of these positive effects were stronger for extroverts, suggesting that the Internet effect is not univocal, and interacts with other factors. Valkenburg and Peter (2009) offered some explanations for earlier findings, including those of Kraut et al. (1998), which identified lower sociability amongst Internet users. One of
41 28 these explanations was that many people were still not online in the mid-1990s when these studies were carried out. This would have limited the opportunities for online engagement with offline friends. Furthermore, the online tools for social interaction that existed at the time were mostly geared towards communication between strangers (e.g. multi-user dungeons [MUDs] and public chat rooms) (Valkenburg & Peter, 2009). In fact, Kraut et al s second study (Kraut et al., 2002) coincided with the coming into being of the so-called Web 2.0, an expression popularised in the early years of the millennium (O'Reilly, 2005) which does not particularly define a technologically enhanced web, but rather a specific way to use the Internet as a platform to facilitate social interaction and collaboration. This means that resources like Facebook, YouTube or Wikipedia became the centre of the Internet-user experience, allowing for simple, ubiquitous access and exposure to and from wide audiences. Seel describes the Web 2.0 as an evolution of the web from a static one-to-many environment to an interactive many-to-many collaborative online universe (Seel, 2012, p.94), with particular emphasis on social networking. Grossman (2006) qualified this shift as a revolution, but also warned against the pitfall of romanticising it, as the Internet harnesses the stupidity of crowds as well as its wisdom (p.29). The increasing attention that social media websites have captured in recent years, with millions of people using them on a daily basis (Pew Research, 2014) has led to lines of research into the extent to which they have affected social interactions offline. For instance, studies have shown that adolescents use social media to strengthen their offline relationships (Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe, 2011), their sense of connectedness with others (Valkenburg & Peter, 2009) and their social competence (Valkenburg & Peter, 2008). Although only limited research has been conducted with adults to date, contrasting results to that found with adolescents have been reported. For instance, Pollet, Roberts and Dunbar (2011) found that, for adults, the number of online friends and time spent interacting with them over the web was unrelated to the number of offline friends, even when accounting for different levels of proximity with specific groups of friends (support group, sympathy group, outer layer). They also found that contact maintained via social networking websites and instant messaging did not increase levels of emotional closeness with friends in any of those groups. According to the authors these results, which differ to those of younger people, can be attributed to age-specific characteristics, with adolescents having a stronger need for emotional proximity with their friends than adults. They also attribute them to the fact that time is not elastic, and therefore time spent in online social activities cannot be used for offline socialising. An analysis by Chen (2013), suggests that frequent uses of Internet and social media are related to a larger number of strong ties in core discussion networks, even if apparently at the expense of weak ties. However, these results do not support concerns about the
42 29 negative impact of the Internet and social media like those suggested by Turkle (2011). In fact, Chen argued that [t]he Internet is a bundle of versatile technologies that can help people develop both strong and weak ties. However, the extent to which such potential can be realized is more about how people use the Internet than what the Internet can technically afford (Chen, 2013, p.416). Some studies have focused on comparing the specifics of communication online with equivalent offline situations, with an emphasis on the disinhibition effect that the Internet seems to facilitate (Joinson, 2007; Suler, 2005), defined as any behavior that is characterized by an apparent reduction in concerns for self-presentation and the judgement of others (Joinson, 1998, p.44, cit. by Joinson, 2007). In the words of a participant from Hardey s analysis of online dating, [t]hat s what is seductive about the Net. Before you know it you are confessing all sorts of things! (Hardey, 2004, p.213). Accordingly, Alapack, Blichfeldt and Elden (2005) wrote that on the Internet there is nothing that stops you from revealing your innermost desires and wildest imaginings (p.55). This disinhibition effect translates into behaviours such as higher levels of selfexposure in communication online (e.g. Bareket-Bojmel & Shahar, 2011), flaming (hostile and insulting interaction between Internet users; e.g. Hutchens, Cicchirillo & Hmielowski, 2014) or engaging in online sexual activities (Carvalheira & Gomes, 2003; Nodin, Leal & Carballo-Diéguez, 2008). Research reviewed by Joinson (2007) seems to suggest that anonymity of online interactions as well as lack of visual cues in computer-mediated communication (CMC) largely accounts for the disinhibition effect, with face-to-face video interactions rendering levels of self-exposure similar to those that occur in offline interactions. The Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE) was developed to explain some of those behaviours in light of how being anonymous or identifiable impacts on group behaviour offline as well as online (Postmes, Spears & Lea, 1999; Spears, Lea, Postmes & Wolbert, 2011). According to the SIDE, anonymous groups in which there is a sense of group membership allow for a stronger social influence of group norms on the individual. This contrasts with previous paradigms, particularly the deindividuation theory, according to which crowd-belonging leads to low self-awareness and consequently to non-normative behaviour, both offline (Festinger, Pepitone & Newcomb, 1952; Prentice-Dunn & Rogers, 1982; Zimbardo, 1969) and in computer-mediated communication (Kiesler, Siegel & McGuire, 1984). Joinson (2010) has further suggested that aside from anonymity other factors come into place when explaining the disinhibition effect, particularly in light of increased surveillance of the Internet, which compromises true anonymity online. Therefore, he posited that trust in specific gatekeepers (e.g. websites), a perception of reduced costs of self-
43 30 exposure and control granted by asynchronous and visually anonymous communication (e.g. , blogs) may facilitate disinhibition in CMC. From this literature, it seems fair to concur with Bargh and McKenna (2004), who concluded that the Internet has unique, even transformational qualities as a communication channel, including relative anonymity and the ability to easily link with others who have similar interests, values, and beliefs (p.586), while at the same time acknowledging that communication technologies and their possible social effects change very quickly, which calls for ongoing research in this field Identity change I link, therefore I am. (Mitchell, 2003, p.62) Internet-related identity change is another area that has received research attention since the very early stages of the development of online networks and platforms. Tomas (1991) described cyberspace as a powerful, collective, mnemonic technology that promises to have an important, if not revolutionary, impact on the future compositions of human identities and cultures (pp.31-32), Rheingold (2000) noted that the latest computermediated communications media seem to dissolve boundaries of identity (p.151) and Mitchell stated that it isn t simply that our sensors and effectors command more territory, that our webs of interconnectivity are larger and more dynamic, or that our cell phones and pagers are always with us; we are experiencing a fundamental shift in subjectivity (Mitchell, 2003, p.62). More recently Carr asserted that [w]hen we outsource our memory to a machine, we also outsource a very important part of our intellect and even our identity (Carr, 2010, p.195). Identity can be defined as the person s essential, continuous self, or the internal, subjective concept of oneself as an individual (Reber, 1995, p.334). Although there is some overlap between the concept of identity and that of the self, it is generally understood that whereas the self refers to a compelling sense of one s unique existence (Reber, 1995, p.699), identity is the part of self-concept that presents itself to others (Zhao, Grasmuck & Martin, 2008). Proponents of Symbolic Interactionism contributed to this view, by positing that identity formation is an ongoing process based on the imagined perspective of others (Blumer, 1969; Mead & Morris, 1934). Goffman (1959), a leading author in this area, developed a theatrical metaphor to explain social interactions, suggesting that people are constantly performing their identities in regard to the context in which they are. Within classical psychological theory it was considered that emotional maturity implied attaining a solid and stable identity that would be formed at the end of adolescence
44 31 (Bornstein, Lerner & Kagan, 2010). However, in line with Symbolic Interactionism, many authors on identity formation have considered it to be a flexible entity. For instance, Nach and Lejeune (2010) posited that identity is never fixed; people will keep on moving in and out of the role-performance arena to fit their environment (p. 627). Similarly Giddens (1991) believed that in late modernity the self is developed in an ongoing reflexive process fed by the engagement in relationships and activities that reinforce it. Some of these as well as other views on identity formation have been applied to understanding the ways in which people present themselves online and how these affect their offline identities. For instance, Turkle (2004) applied the Eriksonian concept of psychosocial moratorium (Erikson, 1964) to the contemporary experience of identity exploration online. Psychosocial moratorium in Erikson s theory is part of the identity formation process, typical of adolescence, during which individuals can try out relationships and emotions in a relatively safe way. According to Turkle (2004), this moratorium is no longer limited to adolescence and has become an ongoing ever-present process for those who play with their identity by assuming different personas online, for instance, in online gaming platforms (e.g. MUDs) or virtual worlds (e.g. Second Life), as well as in chat rooms when interacting with other users. This play may have consequences, as it can facilitate a self-reflexive process, ultimately helping people answer the question: What does my behavior in cyberspace tell me about what I want, who I am, what I may not be getting in the rest of my life? (p.22). Therefore, Turkle saw new communication technologies as ripe with growth and self-discovery potential through the creation and use of online personas that often don t strictly coincide with offline identities. This idea, that the Internet allows a new sort of disembodied existence, detached from physical limitations and characterized by exploration and fragmentation, albeit with the potential for psychological impact, was typical of early reflections around online identities. For instance, Heim (1991) pictured cyberspace as an ecstatic extension of the self, an escape from the confinement of physical existence into an infinite realm of platonic intellect, and Dery (1996) considered that the experience of being in cyberspace links with transcendentalist fantasies of breaking free from limits of any sorts, metaphysical as well as physical (p.8). However, as van Doorn (2011) argued, this vision of the Internet as an illusory datascape that radically differs from the reality of physical existence (p.532) has been questioned since the 1990s and shown to be inaccurate, even if ideas of disembodiment continue to populate current accounts of online experiences (e.g. Tylim, 2012). Zizek (1996), ahead of his time, agreed and believed that the New Age vision of the new computerized sexuality in which bodies mix in the ethereal virtual space, delivered of their material weight is in fact an ideological fantasy, since it unites the impossible: sexuality (linked to the real
45 32 body) with the mind decoupled from the body as if ( ) we can reinvent a space where one can fully indulge in bodily pleasures by getting rid of our actual bodies (p.2). Indeed in research into the criteria used by MSM to select sexual partners online corroborated the idea that bodies do matter in cyberspace, and found that they are present for instance as the locus of desire, as a fantasized ideal or in the need to interact with online personas that have a (real) face attached to them (Nodin, Carballo-Diéguez & Leal, 2009). Others have reported similar findings (Adams-Thies, 2012; Campbell, 2004; Couch & Liamputtong, 2008; Fletcher & Light, 2007; Mowlabocus, 2010). In addition, van Doorn (2011) claimed that technologies like the Internet, which are used as vehicles for the performance of sexuality and gender, cannot be separated from the bodies and identities that perform them, thus arguing that communication technologies are important elements in ongoing online identity formation processes. Several other authors (Clark, 2003; Goren, 2003; Mitchell, 2003; Turkle, 2004) have also questioned whether the relations of close intimacy people develop with the objects they use to access the Internet and to communicate with others (mobile phones, computers, etc.) have an impact on their sense of self, as these objects are increasingly experienced as extensions of their users bodies and minds. Rodogno (2012), while discussing the philosophical issue of re-identification (or the extent to which one s identity remains constant from one moment to another, as well as from one context to the next), examined the usefulness of narrative theories in linking online and offline selves. He claimed that any contemporary account of the self will encompass its offline as well as its online dimensions, therefore unifying both in a single narrative and asserted that abundant stored autobiographical narratives [like the ones found on Facebook] may have an impact on our ongoing identity-forming processes of self-reinterpretation (Rodogno, 2012, p.326). By using a narrative approach to the development of the self not dissimilar to Giddens s (1991), Rodogno joined his voice to those against the idea that disembodiment and anonymity online lead to the creation of multiple and irreconcilable identities. Research into social media seems to support a unified approach to identity formation on- and offline. For instance, Zhao et al. (2008) found that on Facebook the self tends to reflect hoped-for identities that include socially desirable characteristics that users have been unable to attain in their offline selves (Zhao et al., 2008). Accordingly, [i]dentity is not an individual characteristic; it is not an expression of something innate in a person, it is rather a social product, the outcome of a given social environment and hence performed differently in varying contexts (Zhao et al., 2008, p.1831). Other studies have researched the impact of using social media on self-esteem (Wilcox & Stephen, 2013; Gonzales & Hancock, 2011) and self-views (Gentile, Twenge, Freeman &
46 33 Campbell, 2012), generally concluding that there is an impact and that this impact is positive. However, other studies found that, in individuals with low self-esteem, the effect of using social media may actually be negative (Clerkin, Smith & Hames, 2013), and that positive feedback from friends on social media profiles enhanced adolescents' social self-esteem and well-being, whereas negative feedback had the reverse effect (Valkenburg, Peter & Schouten, 2006). These results provide a more nuanced view of identity change associated with use of social media by highlighting the interactive effect that diverse experiences online might have on this process. Finally, Nach and Lejeune (2010) carried out a study on how individuals deal with challenges to their identity derived from new information technologies in the context of organisations, by applying the Identity Control and Coping theories. They reported that people constantly define and redefine themselves in response to substantive shifts induced by information technology (p.627) by using four strategies: acting on a situation, adjusting the self, cathartic practices, and distancing. These may in turn lead to four different, flexible and challenge-reactive, outcomes: reinforced identity, redefined identity, ambivalent identity, and anti-identity. 3. The impact of online dating and sexual networking I change my mind so much I need two boyfriends and a girlfriend. (Pink, undated) In this section I define and characterise online dating and sexual networking, as well as discuss the potential psychosocial implications and effects of these practices, a relatively new area of research. Because dating websites (e.g. OK Cupid, Match, Guardian Soulmates) tend to be marketed by their developers and used by their members differently from sexual networking sites (e.g. Adultfriedfinder, Manhunt), I will examine these two environments and their potential impact separately. It should be noted, however, that there is an overlap between the two, as romantic relationships and sex may result of using either (e.g. Davis et al., 2006, use the term e-dating which includes both practices), and often people concurrently create and use profiles in websites of both sorts (Couch and Liamputtong, 2008). In recent years, the popularity of smart phones has led to the rise of dating and sexual networking applications (named smartphone geosocial networking applications by Rice et al., 2012, and their use designated satellite dating by Quiroz, 2013) that are used for the same purposes as equivalent dating and sexual networking websites but with the added features of mobility and location-based searches for potential partners (Blackwell, Birnholtz,
47 34 & Abbott, 2014; Grosskopf, LeVasseur & Glaser, 2014; Quiroz, 2013). Research on the potential psychosocial effects of these applications is still in its very early stages and is not reviewed since this Dissertation pertains strictly to the impact of using web-based dating and sexual networking resources Online dating An overview Cyberspace is part of real space, and online relationships are real relationships (Ben-Ze ev, 2004, p.2) People have been using adverts, dating services and computers to meet others for relationships and sex for some time (Hardey, 2004; Lawson & Leck, 2006). However, as recently as 2000 it was claimed that personal ads represent a minority, atypical, and slightly deviant mode of courtship (Bartholome et al., 2000, p.311). The Internet has come to deeply change that perception, turning a niche into a mainstream practice (Nodin, 2007), to the point where approximately one-third of all relationships leading to marriage in the USA now start online (Cacioppo, Cacioppo, Gonzaga, Ogburn & VanderWeele, 2013). The popularity of online dating has led to inevitable shifts in public opinion regarding the practice (Noonan, 2007; Quiroz, 2013) and has generated a growing number of books, including fictionalised and non-fictionalised accounts of online dating (e.g. Slater, 2014; Webb, 2013), as well as those advising on the best way to use these websites to meet partners (e.g. Davis, 2013; Fein & Schneider, 2002; Hoffman, 2013). Online dating has been defined as a purposeful form of meeting new people through specifically designed internet sites (Barraket & Henry-Waring, 2008, p.149) or as a method of courting used by individuals who meet on the Internet and continue online correspondence in hopes of forming a supportive romantic relationship (Lawson & Leck, 2006, p.189) and described as a seamless movement between reading descriptions, writing responses and exchanging messages (Hardey, 2002, p.572). It may be followed by telephone conversation(s) and face-to-face encounters (Couch & Liamputtong, 2008; Davis et al., 2006; Guadagno, Okdie & Kruse, 2012). According to the model of seductive communication proposed by Mantovani (2001), which may be applied to online as well as to offline interactions, the seductive process is built up by the actors in a new and creative way each time, starting from opportunities and limitations offered by the communication context, which in the online setting means that participants have to negotiate the meaning of the situation in which they are involved (Mantovani, 2001, p.148).
48 35 According to Finkel, Eastwick, Karney, Reis and Sprecher (2012), online dating offers opportunities to the relationship-seeker that are unprecedented in human history (p.4), namely access to a much larger pool of potential partners than otherwise possible; the overcoming of distance and the possibility of meeting potential partners basically anywhere in the world; and the use of tools that match online daters with others based on data provided by many other users. Several other authors have attempted to define the characteristics that make cyberspace an appealing space for seeking amorous activities. Some have emphasized its psychological allure, listing imagination, interactivity, availability and anonymity as the main factors that drive people online in pursuit of romantic partners (Ben-Ze ev, 2004). Others have focused on the practical aspects of the context: the low or no cost of using online ads; the wide audience that these ads can reach; the possibility of posting pictures alongside detailed text about the person behind the ad; and the fact that they allow users to be anonymous if they wish (Strassberg & Holty, 2003). Couch and Liamputtong (2008) found that the motives that led participants in their sample to use online dating websites were varied and included seeking a soul mate, seeking sex, looking for fun, relaxation, to ease boredom, or because it seemed like an easy way to meet people (p.271). Additional research has also found that people who use dating websites value the freedom of choice these allow, deriving from access to a large number of potential partners, while minimising the negative impact of rejection (Lawson & Leck, 2006). The Internet has the potential to accommodate the diversity of partner-profile and relationship-arrangement possibilities sought by online daters and caters to many of these through a myriad of websites specialized in diverse niche dating markets (Hardey, 2002, 2004; Noonan, 2007). Many of these websites are based on the premise that common interests and other levels of compatibility are key factors for the success of a relationship. This idea goes back to the 1960s, when so called scientific matching used computers to link information that relationship seekers provided on questionnaires about themselves (Hardey, 2002, 2004). Hardey (2004), however, believes that despite the fact that dating websites use increasingly sophisticated algorithms and software to match users, the majority of users will judge and decide themselves who might be suited as potential partners. The Internet also provides the virtual space for adding as much or as little detail as desired when creating profiles on dating websites, with the possibility of including descriptions, tastes and features sought in a partner, as well as pictures and other personal information (Guadagno, Okdie & Kruse, 2012; Hardey, 2004; Lawson & Leck, 2006), even if sometimes resorting to codes that e-daters need to understand in order to fully comprehend the meanings of the other s profile content (Nodin, 2007). The use of pictures in particular is generally a valued element for online relationship-seekers, with one study having found that
49 % of all profile views on a dating website being of users who have at least one picture in their profile (Hitsch, Hortaçsu & Ariely, 2010). Similarly, Fletcher and Light (2007) described a dating website used by gay men as dominated by the need to have some identifiable and visible person and identifiable sexuality to interact with; as is often the case, people want so see and know who they are dealing with (p.427). The pieces of information that dating profiles accommodate were defined as pictorial signs of identity by Davis et al. (2006, p.460), thus highlighting that they are identity proxies of a sort, even if imperfect ones, standing in for the website user. In turn, the presentation possibilities offered by online dating websites allow a careful selection of self-depiction in line with the Hyperpersonal model proposed by Walther (1996). Walther used Goffman s theory of Self-presentation (1959) to argue that the reduced communication cues and the asynchronous nature of CMC allow people to optimise their self-presentation more than already happens offline (Walther, 1996). This in turn contributes to CMC in some instances surpassing face-to-face communication in levels of emotion and affection expressed and experienced, allowing for more intimate social interactions. Various studies of online dating have corroborated the postulates of this model (Anderson & Emmers-Sommer, 2006; Ellison, Hancock & Toma, 2012; Hian, Chuan, Trevor & Detenber, 2006; Jiang, Bazarova & Hancock, 2011). For instance, online daters have been shown to be more flexible in presenting information that may not be accurate at the time of the profile creation but which they believe they will be able to change in the future (e.g. weight, facial hair, professional situation), as opposed to those that are harder to change (e.g. age, height), thus taking advantage of the asynchronicity of this mode of communication (Ellison et al., 2012). It is, however, interesting to contrast this idea of a manicured self that one can present online with the need for authenticity expressed by many people looking for relationships on the Internet (Couch & Liamputtong, 2008; Hardey, 2004). According to Ellison et al. (2012), [g]iven the impossibility of translating an embodied self into a relatively brief and static self-description, some discrepancies between one s online and offline presence may be expected and even accepted while others are definitely not (p.46). This paradox has been characterised in some of the research about online dating as deception (Ellison, Heino & Gibbs, 2006; Guadagno, Okdie & Kruse, 2012; Toma & Hancock, 2012). Research into online dating deception in a heterosexual context (Guadagno, Okdie & Kruse, 2012) found that men tended to lie more than women, but also that dishonesty in CMC varies according to communication mode (with being associated with more deceit than face-to-face contact) and with the individual goals for the communication (online-only communication increasing the likelihood of deceit when compared with online communication with intention to meet face-to-face). Inaccurate dating profiles have also been shown to be
50 37 more intentional than self-deceptive, with users tending to be more inaccurate in their pictures when compared with their relationship information (Toma, Hancock & Ellison, 2008). Conversely, online daters will also develop strategies to determine whether others are lying, such as using webcams or simply by following their instincts (Couch & Liamputtong, 2008). Furthermore, deceit can be progressively unveiled as e-daters get to know each other better and ultimately will be exposed upon a face-to-face meeting (Lawson & Leck, 2006; Whitty & Carr, 2003). In fact, the possibility of a face-to-face encounter has been described as tempering inaccurate self-presentations on online dating websites (Davis et al., 2006; Hardey, 2004; Quiroz, 2013). In line with the concerns surrounding the possibility of e-daters imprecise descriptions, Finkel et al. (2012) suggested that post-date rating systems would improve levels of honesty on dating websites, as inaccurate profiles would very quickly be reported by other users. However, the concept of deceit online has also been put into perspective and the act considered to not necessarily signify deception on the part of the liar, but instead can signify a desire to reveal a deeper level of truth about the self (Whitty & Gavin, 2001, p.630). In turn Ellison et al. (2012) have conceptualised profiles within online dating websites as a promise made to an imagined audience that future face-to-face interaction will take place with someone who does not differ fundamentally from the person represented by the profile (p.56, italics in original) Change associated with online dating I am part of everyone I ever dated on OK Cupid. (Coleman, 2013) Pervasive and extensive use of dating and sexual networking websites has also started discussions around how this might affect different psychosocial dimensions of those who use them. Research in this area is still limited, but growing. For instance, Barraket and Henry- Waring (2008) claimed that while the Internet reinforces traditional norms associated with intimacy, it can alter the nature of relationships by creating new rules and opportunities. Finkel et al. (2012) agree and discuss how online dating has fundamentally changed the process of initiating relationships, by allowing individuals to browse through profiles of others without their knowledge; by getting to know a wide range of facts about a potential partner even before meeting them; and also by being able to access a large number of potential partners at a time. These authors compared the methods used by some of the websites to the means traditionally used by matchmakers and claimed to have found commonalities, such as an emphasis on similarity and complementarity between potential candidates for a match. However, they also found that web-based dating systems algorithms include factors
51 38 that were ignored by traditional methods. Research has also suggested that the Internet allows the levelling out of genderstereotypical patterns of interaction in heterosexual courtship, allowing women to be more assertive and men to be more expressive, with those effects however tending to be eliminated when relationships move out of cyberspace (Lawson & Leck, 2006). Another line of research has tried to determine whether online dating has any effect on identity (Couch & Liamputtong, 2008; Davis et al., 2006; Heino, Ellison & Gibbs, 2010; Yurchisin, Watchravesringkan & Brown, 2005). One study used the concept of possible selves in trying to understand to what extent the creation of profiles in online dating sites and the feedback received from others might lead to identity change (Yurchisin et al., 2005). Possible selves are images of the self that have not yet been realised (Markus & Nurius, 1986, p.957, cit. by Yurchisin et al., 2005). The authors found that there were significant indicators that individuals do re-create their identities through the use of online dating services. This happens by presenting an image of themselves that is close to that which they would like to be (their possible selves) and through it explore identity possibilities that would otherwise not be explored in the offline world. Particularly relevant in this process is the feedback they receive from others, which is then actively incorporated into the online dater s actual (or now ) selves. A different study corroborated that the feedback from others, particularly the indicators of attention to personal profiles (number of hits and messages received) within an online dating environment, had a positive impact on e-daters selfperception, particularly of their desirability (Heino et al., 2010). Heavily influenced by Goffman s theory of Self-presentation (Goffman, 1959), Hardey (2004, 2002) analysed the ways in which the development of trust and the pursuit of authenticity are key elements to the successful development of relationships online. He suggested that Internet dating appears to be an ideal medium for the presentation of biographical narratives, providing individuals with an avenue through which they can reflect on and create a discourse about who they are and what they want from a relationship (p.210). His analysis has inspired further studies about the impact of online dating on identity both for gay (Davis et al., 2006) and heterosexual (Couch and Liamputtong, 2008) e-daters. For Davis et al. (2006), the Internet can be addressed in terms of engagement with self-construction, trust and security (p. 459). They conceptualised this process by the analysis of filtering, or the practice of looking for and selecting partners online, which involves self-construction through the e-daters development of their own online profiles, as much as it includes their perceptions of other user s sexual interests and desires. This translates into e-daters carefully selecting the information to be shown to others (e.g. their user names or pictures) in order to establish individuality and to create a connection with someone who understands your background, personality or sexual taste (p.468), but it also
52 39 means that much investment is put into capturing the attention of the other. This, in turn, leads to self-presentation becoming a way of manufacturing the self in relation to the desires of the desired other (p.468). Davis et al. consider this process to be affected by the meanings and constraints of the offline context, even if the Internet allows for a creative approach to the conventions of sexual taste (p.474). Couch and Liamputtong (2008) picked up the concept of filtering suggested by Davis et al. (2006), and used it to analyse a group of Australian heterosexual e-daters practices. Couch and Liamputtong (2008) also found that the participants in their study were concerned about how to present their own identity to attract their sexual partners (p.277), even if not to the same extent as the participants of Davis et al s (2006) study. In fact, they showed a greater concern regarding the physical appearance of the sexual partners they interacted with online. The variety of strategies that the heterosexual men and women used to interpret their potential daters identities led the authors to conclude that online dating negotiates identity (p.277). In their sample they also found that using online dating websites potentially increased the number of sexual partners as well as allowing the expansion of social networks. Additional research has suggested an impact of dating on the ways individuals perceive others within dating services, particularly by a process of commodification of potential mates (Best & Delmege, 2012; Coupland, 1996; Heino et al., 2010), which may at least be partially associated with the wide choice offered, something that humans may not prepared to deal with from an evolutionary perspective (Lenton, Fasolo & Todd, 2010). Best and Delmege (2012), for instance, studied the strategies that online daters used to filter through large numbers of potential dates within specialised websites, describing how, with experience, users often develop a shopping mentality of dating that allowed them to maximize their results. Others have also approached the online dating experience in light of the marketplace metaphor (or relationshopping ) and explored the ways in which e-daters themselves use this metaphor to make sense of their experience, both in regard to their own as well as to other s presentation online, even if often actively resisting it and its underlying implications (Heino et al., 2010). Heino et al. based their approach on the relevance of metaphors, and therefore of language, to shape the way people conceive reality, thus effectively creating new meanings for existing experiences. They found that this process is also reinforced by the design of dating websites that resemble e-commerce pages and also by enabling individuals to systematically select and deselect checkboxes regarding their [partner] preferences (Heino et al., 2010, p.442). They also highlighted the risks of the marketplace metaphor, as it may lead to relationships that are heavily based on superficial pre-determined matched interests with disregard for deeper aspects of romantic connections. It may also lead to an
53 40 eternal pursuit of the perfect relationship in detriment of developing lasting and successful communication patterns in the relationships found. In other words, the commodification of relationships and people ( ) devalues the uniqueness of individual actors and encourages a more clinical approach to finding a mate (p.444), a perspective that left the participants in the study themselves feeling uncomfortable Online sexual networking and its impact Whenever a new medium or technology changes human social conduct it is almost certain to change sexual interactions as well. (McFarlane & Kachur, 2003, p.223) Many researchers have also questioned the extent to which using the Internet may affect people who use it with the specific intent of finding sexual partners. As Dowsett, Williams, Ventuneac & Carballo-Diéguez (2008) put it in the context of discussing gay men s sexual use of the Internet: [s]ome see the internet as a better telephone, as merely a better way to communicate; but we ask: does this new form of communication change us, producing new cultural norms, new ways to be and do? (p.122). Davis et al. (2006) exposed two opposing arguments regarding the potential relationship between the Internet and sexuality. On one side, there are those who believe that sex happened to the Internet (Davis et al., 2006, p.474). According to this hypothesis, the Internet is just another technological outlet for sexuality that, like video recorders, cell phones and other media, has been used for sexual gratification. On the other side, one of the trends in looking at sexual behaviour in relation to the Internet attributes agency to the medium ( the Internet happened to sexual practice ; Davis et al., 2006, p.473), i.e., it assumes the Internet influences the behaviours that it facilitates and fuels the creation of new ones (Adam et al., 2011). For instance, some have suggested that the Internet may be inducing more sexual risk behaviours, such as sex without condoms and sex associated with drug use, particularly among MSM (Adam et al., 2011; Fernández-Dávila & Zaragoza Lorca, 2011; Liau et al., 2006; McKirnan, Houston & Tolou-Shams 2007). This line of research was inaugurated in 2000 when two separate studies found a relationship between sexually transmitted infections (STI) and sexual use of the Internet among MSM (Klausner et al., 2000; McFarlane et al., 2000). Indeed, Remien et al. (2006) found that 61% of the MSM they surveyed perceived changes in their sexual behaviour since using the Internet. Fifty-one per cent indicated that they had more sexual partners, 41% that they had more oral sex, 30% had more anal sex, and 26% had more unprotected anal sex. Participants also associated using the Internet with
54 41 increased acceptance of their sexual orientation. Another line of research has investigated the existence of sexual compulsivity associated with Internet use (Cooper, Griffin-Shelley, Delmonico & Mathy, 2001; Corley & Hook, 2012; Meerkerk, Van Den Eijnden & Garretsen, 2006), also among MSM (Coleman et al., 2010; Daneback, Ross & Månsson, 2006; Parsons et al., 2008). One study identified a small portion of users of the Internet for sexual purposes for whom the medium seemed to have facilitated an excessive behaviour that would otherwise not have emerged (Cooper et al., 1999). Both lines of research Internet-facilitated sexual risk behaviour and sexual compulsivity often suggest that the virtual context that mediates the behaviours may be responsible for its outcomes (Perry, Accordino & Hewes, 2007). However, even if a relationship between the Internet and problematic sexual behaviour seems apparent in some situations, that relationship has been under researchers scrutiny for at least a decade and still remains unclear (Adam et al., 2011; Al-Tayyib, Rietmeijer, McFarlane & Kachur, 2009). Additionally, not all studies have found a link between using the Internet and risky behaviours (Coleman et al., 2010; Jenness et al., 2010; Menza, Kerani, Handsfield & Golden, 2011), including one among Portuguese MSM, in which the men interviewed denied behaving differently with online versus offline sexual partners in regard to safe sex (Nodin, Leal & Carballo-Diéguez, in press). Brown, Maycock and Burns (2005) underlined the need to analyse Internet-induced sexual risks in the context of the relevant cognitive structures that accompany that practice. They asserted that as with any other social or sexual space, the environment can influence but does not determine the behaviour. It is the assumptions, choices and actions taking place via the Internet that are of interest (p.71). In addition, the Internet may also be a relevant medium to facilitate the prevention of transmission of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) (Rosser et al., 2012) and even to allow the safest sex of all: cybersex (Carvalheira & Gomes, 2003), an activity that people engage in for various reasons, such as time constraints, the sharing of sexual fantasies and the possibility of meeting sexually compatible partners (Wysocki, 1998). However, for others [c]ybersex is only safe because it is no-sex (Alapack, Blichfeldt & Elden, 2005, p.60), emphasizing the lack of physical contact between partners which carries no risk of STI transmission. This has been supported in a study of Portuguese MSM (Nodin, Leal & Carballo-Diéguez, 2008) that found cybersex to be a common Internet-facilitated sexual practice, with participants recognising the advantages of the medium to enable communication between partners. However, many considered cybersex to be generally dissatisfying and to lack the warmth of physical interaction, often approaching it critically even while they continued to engage with the practice (Nodin, Leal & Carballo-Diéguez,
55 ). Despite evidence of these conflicting experiences, or perhaps reflecting them, Tylim (2012) speculated that the pleasure of virtual sex may surpass the pleasure of physicality (p.476). Kraus and Russell (2008) found that access to the Internet from ages 12 to 17 was associated with younger age of first oral sex experience for men and with younger age for first sexual intercourse for adults of both genders, even if such access was not associated with increased number of sexual partners. The authors attributed these results to exposure to sexually explicit materials online during adolescence, thus suggesting that the impact of the Internet on sexuality is not limited to finding sexual partners online and may affect various aspects of users sexuality. Others have discussed how information and communication technologies are channels for different types of sexual expression as well as increasingly becoming a part of them (Hearn, 2008). For example, Hurley (2007) suggested that new-media technologies might be reshaping sex as part of everyday life. Cooper and colleagues emphasised the dynamics of this relationship by writing that since its early days the Internet has been inexorably associated with sexuality in a synergistic dance, each fuelling and ultimately contributing to the transformation of the other (Cooper et al., 2001, p. 268). As with other discussions about the impact of using the Internet on various aspects of the human experience included above, also in relation to online dating and sexual networking, it is possible to identify dichotomous views and reactions. Here too we find an underlying tension between the exciting possibilities that the Internet has to offer e-daters and the real or perceived perils it might produce. Before presenting the empirical studies that support my thesis, I will provide a brief overview of some aspects of MSMs experiences online to help contextualise the research in issues of technology and mating practices associated with cyberspace as well as those of sexual orientation and identity. 4. MSM and the Internet To what extent is the internet overwritten by codes of heteronormativity (and, we might add, homonormativity)? (Bell, 2006, p.399) It has been reported that MSM seem to have taken on the Internet as a preferred environment to seek romantic relationships and sexual encounters (Davis et al., 2006). Studies in various parts of the world have shown that most MSM have used the Internet to meet others for such reasons (Bolding et al., 2005; Frankland et al., 2008; Mettey et al.,
56 ; Pitts et al., 2007). In fact, the enthusiasm with which MSM have taken to the Internet seems to suggest that there is a specific appeal for this medium among these men. The diversity of contexts that MSM use for the purpose of finding sex and the creativity they apply to that pursuit has been documented (e.g. Dowsett, 1999; Leap, 1999; Villaamil & Jociles, 2011), suggesting that cyberspace could just be another one of these contexts. However, other factors may also explain this enthusiastic uptake. For example, if anonymity accounts for the popularity of the sexual use of the Internet for many people regardless of their sexual orientation (Carvalheira & Gomes, 2003; Cooper, 1998; Strassberg & Holty, 2003), research has shown that particularly for MSM who do not identify as gay or who fear negative consequences from disclosing their sexual orientation, anonymity may be the main factor explaining their extensive use of online sexual networking (Brown, Maycock & Burns, 2005). In discussing the ways by which individuals with minority sexual preferences are drawn online, Rosenmann and Safir (2006) suggested that it may be the very nature of offline sexual norms and rules that drive these individuals into the Internet, in what these authors call the push factors of Internet sexuality. Furthermore, they also attributed the allure of the Internet for these individuals to pull factors of the Internet, for example, the interaction with similar others who will positively condone their preferences and activities, leading to a sense of sexual empowerment. McKenna and Bargh (1998) also theorised that individuals with marginalised identities, including non-heterosexuals, would be compelled to use the Internet to interact with people with similar experiences due to the anonymous (and therefore safe ) nature of that medium. They also expected that the influence of such an affiliation would be particularly relevant, leading to those users online selves being merged onto their offline ones. These assumptions were confirmed (McKenna & Bargh, 1998; McKenna, Green & Smith, 2001), and one of the studies conducted concluded that because of the online groups the participants in the research had come out to their family and friends about this stigmatized aspect of themselves for the first time in their lives (Bargh & McKenna, 2004, p.583). McKenna, Green and Smith (2001) posited that as one expresses important sexual needs and interacts with others who share or understand those needs, changes are brought about in one s identity. The result is a demarginalization of one s sexual self specifically, the acquisition of a positive sexual identity where before there were feelings of isolation and shame (p.309, italics in original). Although both Rosenmann and Safir s (2006) and McKenna and Bargh s (1998) analyses were not limited to MSM, the dynamics and processes of sexual use of the Internet these researchers have identified contribute to understanding the high popularity of the
57 44 Internet among this group, and they also help clarify the impact that online sexual networking can have on the development of a positive sexual identity. Additionally, the Internet makes screening for others with similar sexual interests easy (Davis et al., 2006). Men may seek partners online, for instance, for sex without condoms (e.g. Blackwell, 2008; Carballo-Diéguez et al., 2009; Grov, 2006), for fetish sex (Mettey et al., 2003) or they may look for others who fit within specific sexual position preferences, such as that of being the receptive or the insertive partner in anal intercourse (Klein, 2008). When using the Internet to meet others, MSM may need to present themselves as objects of desire, actively negotiating their presentation in accordance with what they perceive to be desirable, using more inventive strategies for that purpose than those generally used offline (Davis et al., 2006). Simultaneously, the options for providing information programmed into these websites are often given by pull-down menus or multiplechoice tick boxes with specific predetermined options that limit the possibilities for selfpresentation (Carballo-Diéguez et al., 2006; Nodin, Valera, Ventuneac, et al., 2011). When completing their profiles within the limits offered by the websites, the men will be making choices and going through a reflexive process about their identity and behaviour. This process links to their sexual identity and behaviour, but also with ethnicity and aspects of gender, specifically those of masculinity and of what it means to be a man in the context of websites designed to facilitate sexual encounters between men (Dowsett et al., 2008). Research that analysed personal ads and profiles posted on the Internet has indeed demonstrated gay men s concerns with gender and gender roles (Phua, 2002). Some of these findings resonate with earlier research using personal ads published in newspapers and magazines by gay men. For instance, studies had shown a tendency among gay men to emphasize their stereotypical masculine traits (Laner & Kamel, 1977), as well as to reject effeminate men (Davidson, 1991) in this context. Thus, the creation and management of profiles in specialized websites potentially allows for processes of re-evaluation of various dimensions of identity in ways that are mediated by technology. Dowsett et al. (2008) believe that through this process and through shared projects of sexual exploration men are producing a new sexual culture based on an ethics that has at its heart notions of reciprocity, intimacy and responsibility, and which outlines evolving rules for comportment (p.135). Another relevant aspect of the intersection of identity and behaviour for MSM is in relation to HIV and sexual risk behaviour. In light of the extent to which HIV infection has affected MSM, research has also focused on this population s use of online personal ads and profiles in regard to issues of health and sexual practices (Blackwell, 2008; Carballo-Diéguez et al., 2006; Davis et al., 2006; Downing, 2010; Nodin, Valera, Ventuneac et al., 2011; Phua, Hopper & Vazquez, 2002). This has become more relevant in light of the increase of
58 45 consensual unprotected anal sex among MSM (a.k.a. barebacking) (Carballo-Diéguez et al., 2009; Tewksbury, 2004, 2006). A study showed that gay men were significantly more concerned with health than heterosexual men, and also that those who were explicit about seeking sexual activities were more likely to mention health issues in their online ads (Phua, Hopper & Vazquez, 2002). However, many MSM still fail to communicate an intention of having safer sex with partners online (Downing, 2010) or their HIV status (Ross, Rosser, Coleman & Mazin, 2006) while others actively look online for partners for sex without condoms (Blackwell, 2008; Tewksbury, 2006). One study reported that 26% of a sample of MSM engaged in barebacking with a partner met on the Internet in the three previous months, which in turn was associated with high sexual sensation seeking (Grosskopf, Harris, Wallace & Nanin, 2011). A research about the online profiles of MSM on websites particularly for bareback sex showed that men s presentations in that context tended to be highly sexualized and explicit, anticipating the act (Nodin, Valera, Ventuneac, et al., 2011). For instance, men disclosing a positive HIV status tended to have more pictures of their heads and bodies as well as of their erect penises, possibly with the intention of showing that despite their HIV status they look attractive, healthy and sexually capable. In turn bottom men (those with a preference for being sexually receptive during anal intercourse) had more pictures of penetration, group sex and of their rears. The men using the websites studied, it was concluded, actively use their online images and performances to put themselves in diverse categories, including those of sexual position and identity in order to appeal to potential sexual partners (Nodin, Valera, Ventuneac, et al., 2011, p.1024). This occurs in the context of the highly sexualized environment of these websites, which reinforces a certain masculine ideal. The results of the study suggested that many high-risk behaviours are anticipated by fantasy, which in turn translates into scenarios created by the men in articulation with the website s possibilities of how they would like situations to unroll and which practices they wish to enrol in (p.1025). The sexual use that MSM make of the Internet therefore seems to be the result of a multitude of circumstances and conditions, some facilitated by the technology and the contexts of its use (e.g. website design, anonymity), and others actively pursued by the men who use it, such as their wish to avoid discrimination and their self-objectification when positioning themselves in the online sexual marketplace. Simultaneously, discussions about HIV, identity and behaviour have become central elements of the research into MSM s use of the Internet to meet sexual partners (Carballo-Diéguez et al., 2006; Davis et al., 2006; Nodin, Valera, Ventuneac, et al., 2011; Phua et al., 2002; Tewksbury, 2004, 2006), particularly in light of increasing concerns around growing HIV infection rates in this population (ECDPC & WHO, 2013; Jaffe, Valdiserri & De Cock, 2007; Le Vu, et al., 2012) and the apparent failure of traditional approaches to prevention (Hart & Elford, 2010).
59 46 Despite not focusing on sexual risk or prevention per se, my thesis complements the body of knowledge about the intersection of technology, identity and desire, a key arena for understanding the dynamics of choice and behaviour among MSM in the contemporary world. 5. Relevance of the topic Our studies aim to increase the amount of information about how the use of technology affects different aspects of human psychosocial functioning and behaviour. Specifically, they investigate the extent to which using dating and sexual networking websites affects gay men and other MSM s self-perception and the perception of others, exploring some aspects of that experience and contributing to the field by developing an innovative evaluation instrument. Although it is an original corpus of research, it links to theoretical frameworks and research carried out by others. It finds its theoretical heritage in centuries-old discussions and reflections surrounding the effects of technology on individuals and society, going all the way to Plato, which are associated with growing concerns about alienation resulting from, but occasionally with enthusiasm for, the use of machines and other artefacts (e.g. Heidegger, 1977; Marcuse, 1964). From a modern perspective, my research engages with similar debates triggered by the advent of mass communication technologies (McLuhan, 1962, 1964, 1967; Postman, 1992; Virilio, 1986, 1995, 1997) and of the Internet as a powerful medium that allows information access and communication on unprecedented levels in the history of humankind (Carr, 2010; Lanier, 2010; Rheingold, 2003; Thompson, 2013; Turkle, 2011). Many of these fall on one side or the other of the technophilia technoscepticism debate (Postman, 1992), with many of the contributions to the field postulating that the Internet has either a positive or a negative (and less frequently a neutral) effect on the people who use it. These ancient and current debates and the concerns that often trigger, or are derived from, them suggest that there continues to be a conceptually relevant space in academia and in society for questioning new technologies influence on people and society. In the words of Fletcher and Light (2007), as technologies are introduced into society, it is important to ask what kinds of bonds, attachments and obligations are in the making. (p.423). I believe that, modestly, our studies contribute to this lineage of reflection and debate. In addition, recent research into the effects of the Internet on various dimensions of human behaviour and psychosocial functioning, such as cognition or sociability, have definitively shown that such effects do exist, although they are far from being simple (Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe, 2011; Kirschner, & Karpinski, 2010; LaRose et al., 2014; Misra &
60 47 Stokols, 2012; Paul et al., 2012; Pollet et al., 2011; Valkenburg & Peter, 2008, 2009). In fact, much of this research has demonstrated that the impact of Internet use on the minds of people who use it has nuances that researchers are only starting to explore and understand in more detail (e.g. Alloway et al., 2013; Junco, 2012). Our approach hopefully provides more meaning and information to a niche aspect of this larger pool of research, therefore informing a more layered knowledge of the impact of the Internet on individuals. Of interest to this area of research, in particular in the context of General and Clinical Psychology, is the issue of identity and self-change. Identity and the self are, after all, central elements to the living experience of humans as sentient and social beings (Dainton, 2014). Traditionally considered to be fully formed and stable by adolescence, some authors have, however, questioned this assumption and proposed more dynamic ways of looking at how identity and the self might evolve throughout life and shift depending on context (Giddens, 1991; Goffman, 1957). Studies of online identities and the presentation of the self in cyberspace have also contributed to deconstructing the notion of a steady and unified identity (Turkle, 1995; 2004). However, this line of research is still in its infancy and is sometimes taken by the temptation of unproven speculation, such as the idea that identities float online detached from the bodies that create them (Dery, 1996; Heim, 1991; Tylim, 2012). Central as they are to psychological science, the interaction of concepts of identity and the self with cyberspace deserves more scholarly attention than has hitherto been afforded. That some of these emerging lines of research have developed from analyses of dating and sexual networking websites and practices is not coincidental. After all, the cornerstone of these websites is the presentation of self in a way to attract potential mates, forcing users to fit a fully multi-dimensional person into the narrow (cyber)space provided, therefore appealing for a maximisation of communication, often by exposing and making use of several of the relevant threads that form an identity, including gender, sexuality, ethnicity and HIV status. This unique combination of potential and constraint added to the vast popularity of the practice make online dating and sexual networking a perfect laboratory for the study of identity and of self-presentation in the modern world. Similarly, MSM s enthusiastic use of the Internet to meet sexual and amorous partners, aligned with the specific realities that these men face in relation to their identity and behaviour, make them a target group for analyses regarding the plasticity of the self when exposed to cyberspace. However, much of the research around MSM s identities online has focused on discourses of public health and sometimes of moral panic due to historically high rates of HIV infection in this group and the challenges of ongoing prevention of STI transmission in current times (McNamara, 2013). Therefore, although MSM s use of the Internet has been studied extensively in relation to sexual risk behaviours (Adam et al., 2011;
61 48 Benotsch, Kalichman & Cage, 2002; Fernández-Dávila & Zaragoza Lorca, 2011; Liau et al., 2006; McKirnan et al., 2007; Tikkanen & Ross, 2003) or sexual compulsivity (Coleman et al., 2010; Daneback et al., 2006; Parsons et al., 2008), other aspects of these men s use of the Internet for sexual purposes have been surprisingly understudied. Knowledge of problematic sexual behaviours is certainly still relevant to better address the ever-growing HIV epidemic amongst MSM in many countries. However, additional and more diverse understanding of MSM s identities and practices in connection with communication technologies are needed and, I argue, will be valuable contributions to the same greater public health purpose of HIV prevention. Furthermore, this understanding will also be valuable in the context of Gay and Lesbian Studies. Of note, our research is among the few studies of Internet use and sexuality in Portugal, a field pioneered by Carvalheira and Gomes (2003) but still largely unexplored. I believe it contributes to the understanding of the contemporary realities of Portuguese MSM, namely the challenges that these men face in their pursuit, development and maintenance of sex and relationships in a networked world. Finally, I agree with Bargh and McKenna (2004), who suggested one potentially great benefit of the Internet for social psychological research and theorizing: by providing a contrasting alternative to the usual face-to-face interaction environment (p.587). The Internet is a powerful lens to look at how people think, behave and interact, not always in ways that equate with what happens or is accessible offline. The idea that the Internet and the fast moving amalgamation of technologies that are part of it is creating new ways to be and do (Dowsett et al., 2008) is a fascinating one that will add to the understanding of what it means to be human and also, maybe, to be post-human (Fukuyama, 2005; Haraway, 1991; Kurtzweill, 2005) or inhuman (Lyotard, 1991). For the reasons explored, I believe that the study of MSM s self-presentation and identity in connection with meeting sexual partners online is relevant and will contribute to the understanding of how new communication technologies are affecting individuals and how these changes are perceived and evaluated by those who experience them. In the words of Barraket and Henry-Waring (2008), better developed theoretical and empirical understandings of the use of online technologies for the purpose of relationship formation are required if we are to understand the nature of intimacy in the global age (p.163).
62 49 Methods
63 50
64 51 1. Qualitative phase (Exploratory Study and Study 1) 1.1. Participant recruitment Participants were recruited both online and through traditional methods, such as word of mouth and advertisement through various media ( , television and community-based organisations). Online recruitment was via an Internet-based personal profile created on a popular website used by Portuguese MSM to find partners, sexual and other, using the website s profile template, which allows the inclusion of personal information, description of what one is looking for in others and pictures. In our recruitment profile we included basic information about the research, its purposes, target participants demographics, and other information (Appendix 1). A picture of the letter Psy from the Greek alphabet was included in the profile in order to enhance its visibility, as many members only look for or read profiles with images, and to underline the scientific nature of the research. Within the first month of the research, a few dozen members of this website read the profile and of those about 28 volunteered to participate in the research, of which 21 followed up and were interviewed. Potential participants were asked for their contact telephone number and called at an agreed time for screening to assess eligibility for inclusion via a short questionnaire (Appendix 2). Following initial recruitment, eight research invitations to participate were sent out daily to randomly selected members of the website who were online during recruitment hours. Eight messages was the limit set by the website for non-paying members, which was the case for this study. In order to randomise these invitation messages, the number of profiles that were online during recruitment hours (available on the website) was divided by eight and a message was sent to every Xth profile, starting from the beginning of the list, except if that number was that of a previously contacted or interviewed member, in which case the next one on the list was contacted. A log was kept of these contacts for monitoring purposes.
65 52 Of the sample of MSM examined during this phase of the research (n=36), 58.3% were men who volunteered online; 13.9% were men invited using the web-based profile created for the study who accepted the invitation to participate; and 27.8% were recruited through other ways, such as word of mouth or general ing. Recruitment took place from April to December In order to be eligible to participate, volunteers had to be male, 18 years of age or older, of Portuguese nationality or be living in Portugal for at least one full year, and have had in-person sexual contact with a partner first met online. Although volunteers were asked if they lived in the Lisbon metropolitan area to facilitate face-to-face interviewing, some participants who did not live in Lisbon were also contacted and interviewed if they were in Lisbon at a time when interviewing was possible. Non-Lisbon residents accounted for 8.3% of the sample (n=3) and foreigners living in Portugal (minimum of four years in the final sample) accounted for 5.6% (n=2) of the sample. As the language used both in the profile and for screening of volunteers was Portuguese, non-fluent Portuguese speaking individuals were naturally filtered out during the recruitment process. Participants ranged from 18 to 62 years of age (x =34.4 years; sd=9.1). The large majority self-identified as white (91.4%) and gay (94.4%), with the remainder identifying as bisexual (5.6%). Thirteen participants (36.1%) indicated being in an ongoing relationship at the time of the interview; one participant indicated that his partner, at the time of the interview, was a female. Thirty-three participants (91.7%) had been tested for HIV, of whom two (5.6%) indicated being HIV positive Procedures Volunteers were scheduled for face-to-face interviews at a private psychologists office in central Lisbon. All interviews were conducted by NN who has broad psychological interviewing experience. Informed consent was obtained at the beginning of each interview. The interviews were audio-recorded with participants permission. Interviews lasted from about 40 minutes to over two hours in length, with most lasting about an hour and a half. At the end of each interview, participants were asked to complete a written socio-demographic and epidemiological questionnaire. The audio-recorded interviews were transcribed and cleaned of errors and identifying information before analysis Measures A semi-structured interview guide, based on a guide developed for a similar study (Carballo-Diéguez et al., 2009), was developed specifically for the current study to ask participants about Internet use, sexual use of the Internet, personality and behaviour online,
66 53 preferred sites, creation of their online personal profile, contacting others on and offline for sex and relationships, and safer sex. These were included in the guide in order to cover a wide range of experiences and feelings about using the Internet for sexual purposes. A draft version of the interview guideline used for the study was piloted on three native Portuguese-speaking volunteers (two Brazilian- and one Portuguese-born) recruited online and interviewed face-to-face in New York City in early The final interview guide was developed from this pilot by eliminating questions shown to be unclear and including others that could be relevant for the purposes of the research. The final version of the interview guide had a predefined but flexible structure, allowing the interviewer to follow the natural flow of information presented by the interviewee (Appendix 3). A written questionnaire was also developed to collect information about sociodemographic characteristics and information on sexual behaviour, sexual orientation and HIV status (Appendix 4) Analysis The analysis followed the procedures described by Braun and Clarke (2006), using an inductive and semantic approach to the data informed by the research questions. Due to the diversity of the collected material, initial coding followed the structure of the Interview guide, allowing for a formal mapping of the material, later to be thematically analysed in accordance with the different research interests. For the Exploratory Study, first level code Safe sex was used. It covered questions and answers on the definitions and practices of condom use and safe sex, including those associated with partners met online. The main questions asked during the interview about safe sex were used to create second level codes. Then, a thorough reading of the material under each code was undertaken to identify secondary themes. Results were organized according to relevant categories identified. For Study 1 we developed a basic functional code for an initial extraction of the dataset from the data corpus for the analysis carried out. This code covered all sections of transcripts that included participants experience, evaluation and reflections of how meeting other men through the Internet for sexual purposes could have influenced their perception of themselves or of other people. A thorough reading and re-reading of the material generated initial codes and later informed the identification of themes by searching for patterns of meaning in the coded material, always in dialogue with the topic under analysis. For both qualitative studies analytical bias was minimized by clear and consensual discussion and definition of codes by co-authors and by using transparent documentation (NVivo 8.0). Codes were also systematically verified for internal and external consistency,
67 54 checking for overlaps and coherence of coded material. Quotations were translated from the Portuguese originals, maintaining the meaning and nuances of the participants testimonies, using equivalent idiomatic expressions when appropriate. 2. Quantitative Phase (Studies 2 and 3) 2.1. Procedures and participant recruitment From the analysis of the themes that emerged during the qualitative phase of the study, a survey and a scale aimed at further understanding the research topic were developed (Appendix 5). These were programmed for an online format using SSI Web Survey software (Sawtooth, 2009), hosted on a website specifically created for the research, tested and then launched. The study and the link to the website where these instruments were hosted were advertised online via ing, using ads on websites targeted at gay men, through Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) organisations and word of mouth. The website was online and open for participation from January to June Recruitment continued throughout this period Measures The online survey included the following sections: introduction to the study, including research team contact details; informed consent; participant demographics; relationship status; HIV-related behaviours; sexual orientation and number of partners; Internet behaviour and sexuality; online profile; and the SUIS. The SUIS was developed as a 5-point Likert scale (Completely agree Completely disagree) and included 65 items. These items were based on common topics that came up in the exploratory phase of the study, and some were adapted from ideas and phrases formulated by the men who were interviewed then. All related to various aspects of the experience of using the Internet to meet sexual partners, including ways in which that specific behaviour might affect users; influence perceptions of others; preferences for using the Internet versus other ways to meet partners and safe sex with partners met online. The SUIS, was validated using a sample of 317 participants who completed an online survey that included this scale as well as other instruments (Study 2: Nodin, Leal & Carballo- Diéguez, submitted a). The results were analysed using an exploratory factor analysis to explore its matrix of correlations with extraction of factors using a principal component analysis, followed by a Varimax rotation. The final version of the SUIS included 42 items (from an initial 65) with a KMO of.859 and a factorial structure of six latent dimensions that altogether explained 51% of the variance of the scale. These dimensions were theoretically coherent and covered distinct but interconnected aspects of MSM s experiences online, namely: Positive impact of the Internet, Sexual self-exposure online, Advantages of meeting
68 55 men online, Preference for meeting men online, Mistrust of men online and Negative impact of the Internet Study Sample A total of 1351 men participated in this study phase. Only completed questionnaires and those of men identifying as gay or bisexual were retained for analysis. The final sample included 317 participants. Studies 2 and 3 include detailed descriptions of this sample s characteristics. Participants ranged from 18 to 62 years of age (x = 30.8 years, sd=9.4). The majority lived in a big city (58.7%), followed by those who lived in a small town (23.7%), a village (15.1%) or a rural area (2.5%). Seventy-eight per cent identified as gay with the remainder identifying as bisexual; however, when asked about their sexual attraction on an adapted Kinsey scale (Kinsey, 1948), only 55.5% of the total sample reported being exclusively attracted to men. About half of the participants were in a relationship (49.5%), most of which were with another man (83.4%). 3. Ethics approval This research was approved by an ethics evaluation conducted by the Scientific Committee of the Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada, Lisbon, Portugal.
69 56
70 57 Studies
71 58
72 59 1. Exploratory Study: HIV knowledge and related sexual practices among Portuguese men who have sex with men Nodin, N.; Leal, I.P.; Carballo-Diéguez, A. (in press). HIV knowledge and related sexual practices among Portuguese men who have sex with men. Cadernos de Saúde Pública.
73 60 Abstract HIV prevention campaigns in Portugal have historically not targeted men who have sex with men (MSM). Therefore, we decided to investigate the concepts and practices of safer sex of Portuguese MSM. 36 MSM (x =34.4, sd=9.1), 94.4% self-identifying as gay or bisexual, were recruited on and offline and interviewed. The interviews were later transcribed and thematically analysed for Safe sex. Results show that, despite the low level of exposure to specific prevention messages, our participants were aware of HIV transmission risks and tended to protect themselves in most sexual practices. Oral sex and steady relationships, however, did not always include safer practices.
74 61 Introduction In January 2010 the first public, large-scale multi-media campaign aiming to promote condom use among gay men in Portugal was launched in response to government policies to develop more effective HIV prevention strategies 1. Until then, and despite community-based efforts 2, most HIV-prevention messages targeted the general population. Some of these messages may actually have induced risk behaviors through vagueness of goals; lack of clear messaging; frequent use of fear as a prevention strategy and of language that could be misunderstood by the target audience 3. It has also been suggested that the creators of these messages were unclear about their target audience and contexts in which unsafe sex occurs, resulting in ambiguous messages 4. Historically, this may have led to the Portuguese having some of the most inaccurate information about HIV within Europe according to a 2003 survey, including almost one-third of respondents that believed that HIV could be transmitted through kissing, mosquito bites or by using public bathrooms 5. Data about the general population and about men who have sex with men (MSM) over the last decade shows an overall grim picture regarding HIV in Portugal within the larger European context. A projection study published in 2005 suggested that there was an apparent change in the decreasing [HIV infection] tendency in the Homo/Bisexual category (p.140) in this country 6. Epidemiological data about HIV infection in Portugal indeed showed that since 2003 the number of new infections in that category increased, peaking in 2009, and only since then have been decreasing steadily 7. Around 2.3 million people were living with HIV in Europe at the end of 2006, of which around 50% had not been diagnosed. Portugal ranked second in number of people living with HIV after Estonia. Heterosexual intercourse had become the predominant mode of transmission in most countries, including Portugal 8. More recent reports show that the number of people living with HIV in Europe continues to increase and that HIV is concentrated in key populations at higher risk of infection such as MSM. This is particularly the case in Western Europe, where infection rates for MSM increased by 6% between 2006 and There has also been a disproportional concentration of sexually transmitted infections (STI) among HIV positive MSM in the same region since Portugal no longer holds a high position in the European ranking for HIV prevalence in the general population 7. This may be linked with fear of HIV infection and increased knowledge about viral transmission, even if condom use seems to be dependent on life and relationship contexts among heterosexuals 10. The relevance of social networks has also been highlighted for this population, in that these may influence greater sexual experimentalism as well as condom use 11.
75 62 On a recent study with Portuguese MSM, only a minority of participants mentioned having been the target of prevention campaigns, leading the authors to suggest the need for functional and effective prevention strategies directed at this population 12. Despite limited targeting of safe sex messages this group was reported to have safer sexual behaviors and higher risk awareness compared with the heterosexual population 13. However, only 28% reported always using a condom during anal intercourse in the previous year; 39% had never tested for HIV and 40% reported not using a condom when falling in love. Unsafe sexual practices among MSM have been on the rise in several European countries 14,15,16,17 but the contexts and associated factors of this reality remain largely understudied in Portugal. The Internet has become a popular way for MSM to meet sexual partners throughout the continent, which in turn has been associated with risk behaviors 18,19,20. A Portuguese study has suggested that using online sexual networking websites has influenced MSM s sense of selves and their sexuality in various ways, for instance by making them more accepting of their sexual orientation; by increasing their sexual experimentation; and by allowing them to be more sexually assertive 21. Growing awareness of the need to target MSM s needs for HIV prevention in the country has led to the development of community-based initiatives 22 and research projects 12,13,23. However, there is still an astounding lack of qualitative and ethnographic studies about this reality in Portugal which may provide a finer understanding of MSM s HIVrelated knowledge and behaviors, particularly of those who use technologies to interact and engage with new sexual partners. The current study aims to address some of the gaps in knowledge and to contribute to illuminate the needs of HIV prevention through the analyses of safe sex concepts and practices of a group of Portuguese MSM who use the Internet to meet sexual partners. Methods Participant recruitment This study was approved by an ethics evaluation process conducted by the Scientific Committee of Instituto Universitário de Ciências Psicológicas, Sociais e da Vida, Lisbon, Portugal. Participants were recruited online and through other methods, such as word of mouth. Online recruitment was via an Internet-based profile in a popular website used by Portuguese MSM to find partners, sexual and other. Individuals actively responded to the profile or were recruited by sending eight messages daily (the limit set to non-paying members of the website) inviting members who were online to participate in the research.
76 63 Volunteers were contacted by telephone and screened for eligibility: volunteers had to be male, aged 18 years or older, Portuguese or been living in Portugal for at least one full year, speak fluent Portuguese and have had at least one sexual contact with another man met online. Recruitment continued until no significantly new topics were coming up in the interviews. Measures A semi-structured interview guide was used to ask participants about their Internet use, meeting partners online for sex, and safe sex. The guide was specifically designed for this study, being based on that developed by Carballo-Diéguez et al 24, but amended after initial assessment of validity for Portuguese-speaking interviewees. For the assessment, three volunteers were interviewed using a translation and adaptation of the initial guide, thus informing changes, eliminating unclear questions and including relevant others that were missing. Data collection Participants were scheduled for face-to-face interviews, at the beginning of which informed consent was obtained. Interviews were audio-recorded with participants permission. After the interview, participants were asked to complete a written questionnaire covering demographics, sexual health and behavior. Data analysis The audio-recorded interviews were transcribed, cleaned of identifying information and of transcription errors and coded for analysis. Our analysis followed the procedures described by Braun and Clarke 25. We used an inductive and semantic approach to the data informed by our research questions. Initial coding paralleled the structure of the interview guide to capture the major themes covered by the interview. For this study, first level code Safe sex was used. It covered questions and answers on the definitions and practices of condom use and safe sex. The main questions asked during the interview about safe sex were used to create second level codes. Then, a thorough reading of the material under each code was undertaken to identify secondary themes. Analytical bias was minimized by clear and consensual previous discussion and definition of categories by co-authors and by using transparent documentation (NVivo 8.0). Results were organized according to relevant categories identified: Definitions and practices of safe sex; Risk reduction; and Relationships and risk. Quotations were translated
77 64 from the Portuguese originals, maintaining the meaning and nuances of the participants testimonies, using equivalent idiomatic expressions when appropriate. Results Thirty-six participants, year of age ( x =34.4; sd=9.1), were recruited and interviewed. Most of the men volunteered online, five (13.9%) were actively invited via the web-based profile, and 10 (27.8%) via other means. Most participants self-identified as white (91.4%), and gay (94.4%). The large majority had at least 11 years of education (97.2%), of which about half (51.4%) had completed a degree in higher education. Most were working (77.8%) and had never been married (83.3%). Thirteen (36.1%) indicated being in an on-going relationship, one of which with a woman. Thirty-three (91.7%) had tested for HIV, of which two (5.6%) were HIV-positive. Most of the participants lived in the Lisbon metropolitan area; three were non-lisbon residents; and two were non-portuguese living in Portugal (minimum of 4 years). Average length of interviews was 1h30m. Definition and practices of safe sex The majority of participants correctly defined safe sex as use of condoms during anal intercourse. Several also included in their definitions use of condom during oral sex, although many argued that not using it in this activity is less risky as opposed to anal sex or admitted to being unsure about its risk. Safe sex for me is, for gay men, to put on a condom from the moment when there is an erection. [n34, age 31 years, single] From what I ve read [safe sex] is everything that has to do with the contact between the anal mucosa and the other person s penis because even before the ejaculation there are those secretions that may cause infection. Contact between mouth and penis may also imply risks, although they are minor because the saliva destroys the virus But if the person has a wound and there is contact, it [infection] may happen. [n31, age 41, single] All of the participants said they used condoms with their non-steady partners for anal intercourse. During oral sex, however, most said they didn t use them, despite their knowledge of the risks involved.
78 65 My application of safe sex has been never to have anal sex without a condom. ( ) I know that through oral sex you can also get AIDS and other illnesses, but in oral sex I never use a condom. [n20, age 27, single] A few of the interviewees mentioned the possibility of HIV infection through kissing, revealing accurate knowledge about the physiology of disease transmission along with a high level of infection anxiety. Although we know that chances of transmission of certain diseases through kissing or though contact with secretions [is low], it cannot be neglected, because some persons have cavities or wounds in their gums with blood. Of course the chance is low, but it happens. [n50, age 43, single] Risk reduction Participants did not limit their safe sex strategies to using condoms for anal intercourse. A variety of risk reduction practices were identified during the interviews. We grouped these into three sub-categories: oral sex; evaluation of the partner; and other risk reduction strategies. Oral sex Following the awareness shown by many of the interviewees about oral sex related infection risk, and despite their reluctance to use condoms in that practice, many said they used other ways to minimize their risk of infection through fellatio. The most common was avoiding ejaculation in the mouth or swallowing semen. Through my experience I started to notice that if the person to whom I was performing oral sex was dripping semen, that he was about to come [So] when that happened I would spit out or stuff, or I would just stop doing oral [sex]. [n28, age 22, single] [N]ot swallowing sperm during oral sex. That is what safe sex is for me. [n55, age 18, in a relationship] risk. A few of the interviewees also limited the practice of oral sex as a way to reduce their
79 66 For me to practice oral sex, it will have to be within a relationship in which I know the person is well; and to let someone do it on me I also have to know that person quite well. [n16, age 29, single] Evaluation of the partner Several of the participants mentioned that they would evaluate their potential sex partners in order to assess their risk by having sex with them. Although they focused on different aspects of the partner and situation, the most common was an assessment of the appearance of the potential partner. For me the hygiene [of the guy] is also very important and I associate that a little as well to the issue of safe sex [n9, age 35, single] If the person appears with infected pimples or with many skin spots, and so on and so forth, I stop. I stop everything! [n19, age 45, single] There was this guy with whom I spoke through [the website] that had this really nice pics and I went to meet him ( ) I could tell that he was the same guy from the pictures, but he looked really bad and I got the feeling that he had AIDS. [n20, age 27, single] Another method used to assess a potential sex partner s risk was to screen the information available in their online profiles. I look at a profile, because I m very careful about health issues, and if the person says [in his profile] sex, sex, sex, I just avoid that guy [because] if he is someone so interested in sex, then the probability of him having a disease is very high. [n16, age 29, single] If someone says [in his profile] that he is not interested [in safe sex], I will not contact him; if he says needs discussion I really don t know what that means, but I don t want to be in a position in which a person will want to penetrate me or have an orgasm in my mouth without protection. [n17, age 62, in a relationship] encounter. Other men extended this screening to the interaction established online before an
80 67 Usually people start by saying in their profiles if they like safe sex or not. Those who do not like it, when I chat with them through IM [instant messaging], I will say: I saw in your profile that you don t like safe sex. I m pro safe sex; if we meet, how s it going to be? [n42, age 30, in a relationship] Discussing safe sex or condom use prior to a face-to-face encounter was not common. However, safe sex was a standard procedure and expected to happen by default in the sexual encounters of these men. I always have safe sex; for me it s taken for granted. It is not actually something that is discussed. When [we] start to have sex I will go get condoms. [n6, age 29, single] I never had to converse or discuss if we will have safe sex or not. I mean everyone with whom I ve been assumes that sex is supposed to be safe. [n38, age 45, in a relationship] When asked, the men said that the safe sex considerations and procedures they followed with their partners met online were the same as those with partners whom they met offline. In the casual [sexual] relationships I had, regardless of the fact that they came from the Internet or not, I will obviously use a condom, so I don t distinguish things that way, it has to do with the other person and myself, not with the relationship and not with where I met him. [n33, age 33, single] Other risk reduction strategies Another risk reduction strategy used was reducing the number of sex partners. One participant said that during six years at the onset of the AIDS crisis he had no sexual contact with men due to his concern about infecting his wife. Other participants also reported limiting the number of partners in order to reduce their risk. The fact that I met these guys and already was having sex with them was a little promiscuous of me and I could have got myself infected. [n18, age 29, single] With the same goal in mind, some participants limited the types of activities in a sexual encounter:
81 68 But I don t have many risk situations, no, no, no I don t [anally] penetrate nor I get penetrated with people met at night. [n11, age 41, single] In order to have [an absolutely] safe attitude, there is only [one possible attitude], that is not to kiss anyone. [n50, age 43, single] Other strategies mentioned by participants were showing or asking for their partners HIV test results, avoiding ejaculation during intercourse (even when using a condom), and limiting drug or alcohol use during sexual encounters. Relationships and risk Safer sex behaviors within steady relationships differed from those in casual encounters. Most men would consider stopping using condoms when in a relationship. In fact, some of those who had been in relationships mentioned that they had stopped using condoms at some point. [I always use condoms], unless I would start a relationship with someone and at some point we would decide we didn t want to use condoms anymore between the two of us [n43, age 31, single] The issue of trust was commonly mentioned in this context. Definitions of trust, however, varied. All the relationships I had in the past were with persons with whom I would have safe sex with and then I think it continues to be safe, from the moment I trust. But that is a question of definition, but initially we always use condoms and then we stop using them at some point. [n22, age 36, single] There was only one or two situations in which [using a condom] did not happen, for matters of trust, that is. He was my boyfriend I trusted him and we did not use it. Although I always go for the little HIV test afterwards. [n55, age 18, in a relationship] These narratives show that trust is used as a justification not to use condoms, even in situations in which it may be important to use them. The younger of these two men (n55), for instance, also mentioned that none of his relationships had lasted for more than one month. However, within the context of longer relationships, and before condom-use ceased, commonly both partners would test for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
82 69 Initially we used condoms. In the meanwhile we both tested. Everything was okay. And now we do it without a condom. [n8, age 49, bisexual, in a relationship] Regardless of HIV-testing and negative results, some participants said that they regretted having taken chances, considering the risks involved in stopping condom use even within relationships. [He] was the first man that I fell in love with, which was foolish, because we had nothing in common, but [I met him] over the Internet and I was obsessed with the Internet and I had sex without condoms, and that was foolish because he was having sex with other people too. [n10, age 42, in a relationship] Many participants spoke of agreed or not agreed non-monogamy in their relationships and in the relationships of men they had sex with. However, in none of these there were direct references to sexual risk behaviors. Risk reduction by HIV positive men Two of the participants knew their HIV-status to be positive. Both admitted to having a very active sex life, one going as far as calling himself a sex addict (n32, age 46, single). He tended not to disclose his serostatus to his sex partners. The other participant (n46, age 36) had a sexually open, long-term relationship with another HIV-positive man. He practiced brachioproctic eroticism (known as fisting or fist fucking) and mentioned being careful at looking at the hands of the man who would fist him and he would sometimes ask him to use rubber gloves to minimize risk of Hepatitis C infection. Both men indicated that they would only practice anal intercourse with a condom, but did not generally use one for insertive or receptive oral sex. However, they had slightly different attitudes towards ejaculation during oral sex: Some practices that people are alerted to, including ejaculation inside the mouth, when the person is aware [of the risks], I think that, and you can call me whatever you like, I I I still do it [I ejaculate inside the guy s mouth]. It is a risk that the person is perfectly aware of taking. [n32] I usually don t ejaculate in people s mouths if I think they re serodiscordant. Even when they re HIV-positive, I don t like to do it. I mean, I like it as an activity, but sperm play is something you have to be really careful about, right? Due to drug resistance factors and all
83 70 that. Both for me and for my partners. Where I risk the most, maybe, is with my boyfriend. [n46] Both would consider ejaculating in a partner s mouth without an open discussion about their own serostatus, although their personal ethics about it differed. We are all adults and one way or another, I always bring up the word AIDS or seropositive or something like that. I may not tell people I m HIV-positive because of the stigma, which would most certainly lead to the end of everything [sexual] that is going on or about to start but I always bring up the topic, so people know. [n32] No, I don t say [I m HIV-positive]. Sometimes I do, when I understand people are [also positive], then I talk about it freely. But people don t talk much about it here [in Portugal]. They rather even when it is assumed, even when it is understood and clear, it is not mentioned [n46] This participant also discussed how he often made assumptions about the serostatus of others using the information they included in their online profiles. He interpreted information such as Discussion needed or No for the safe sex option of the profile as a code for seropositivity. Some of the HIV-negative participants of this study were asked if they inquired about their sexual partners HIV status. Most said they didn t. Typically, they thought that, even if their potential partners were HIV-positive, they would not tell the truth. Discussion The MSM who participated in this research generally had good knowledge of sexual routes of HIV infection and prevention strategies. They also revealed safe behaviors in the majority of their anal sex practices. This suggests that they received accurate HIV-related information and that they are aware of risks and of how to avoid them, despite the traditional lack of prevention campaigns targeted at MSM in Portugal. Typically, condoms are produced at some moment before intercourse and used for anal sex. Thus, although partners did not discuss safe sex prior to sexual encounters, this did not seem to stand in the way of adequate prevention behaviors. The significant levels of HIV information we found on our sample may reflect the participant s overall high educational background, which may additionally account for a
84 71 relative homogeneity of our results. Therefore, further research that might help texturize this reality is still needed. Despite the high levels of safe anal sex knowledge and reported behaviors, most men in this study said that they did not use a condom during oral sex. Although oral sex is considered to be a lower risk practice, several studies have shown that it may account for a portion of HIV infections 26, 27. Some men reported using alternative strategies to keep safe during fellatio, such as avoiding oral contact with their partner s ejaculate. However, some of the others seem to hold inaccurate beliefs such as that risk is minimized by not swallowing semen, which means that they may be at risk via pre-ejaculate fluids or by taking semen in their mouths. These findings are also significant in light of the estimated high percentages of European MSM who are unaware of their HIV status 8 and who may unknowingly be putting their sexual partners at risk of infection. Many men tried to assess their partners HIV status by evaluating their appearance or behavior. Despite showing a concern with infection, these are ineffective prevention strategies. Assuming that their partners are HIV-negative based on appearance may lead some men to be less safe 28. The analysis of the practices and concerns of the two HIVpositive men in this study along with those of the other men who often don t ask about their partners serostatus, demonstrated that assumptions and communication shortcomings may be leading HIV-negative men to become exposed to HIV, in particular during oral sex. Risk-reduction strategies were uncommon. Asking for a partner s HIV test result was only marginally mentioned in this sample and other strategies that MSM have been shown to use, such as serosorting, strategic positioning, or negotiation of viral load 29,30 were not specifically mentioned by participants in our study. Therefore, our results are suggestive of a lacking HIV and risk related language that might be used to negotiate sexual activity among the MSM in our sample, leaving safety decisions to be made based on what is implicitly but not explicitly communicated. At least one of our participants (n46) believed this to be specific to the Portuguese context. Men will collect some of this implicit risk information from the profiles of Internet based sites that they use to meet others for sex. This means that these websites and profiles may be relevant in filling in the communication gaps between MSM. Some of these websites do allow users to easily share with other users information about their HIV status; safety of activities sought and other related information, albeit not consistently 31. Therefore, it may be relevant to work with website managers to develop more transparent and sexual health friendly interfaces for their users, as well as to help men be more clear and assertive in their sexual communication on and offline. Most interviewees said that the prevention strategies they used with men met for sex offline or online were the same, which contrasts to European research which suggest more
85 72 risk behaviors with men met online 18,19. For instance, a Spanish study has suggested that more thorough partner selection processes online, which include engaging on intimate communication with potential partners, may lead to subjective impressions in regards to sexual risk, thus facilitating unprotected sexual activity with these partners 32. Although a Portuguese study with MSM suggested changes in sexuality associated with meeting partners online, these changes seem unrelated with the protective behavioral patterns on and offline that we found on the current study 21. Therefore, links between using the Internet to meet partners and sexual behavior patterns is an issue that would benefit from further analyses within the Portuguese context. Steady relationships may be contexts where risks are permitted, as couples tend to relax patterns of safety at some point in the relationship. This result supports previous Portuguese MSM sexual behavior reports 13. In spite of negotiated safety, in which couples stop using condoms after HIV-testing, risk situations may still occur since many relationships are not sexually closed and the decision to stop condom use within the relationship is based mostly on trust 33. However, trust, as some of our participants agreed, is a rather subjective concept, leaving space for various expectations and behaviors. A study showed a 23% rate of broken agreements of having sex outside of the primary relationship among MSM, with different aspects of couple s dynamics, including trust, as being the best predictors of agreement maintenance 34. Further research has also shown that most HIV infections occur from main sex partners 27,33. This suggests that relationship dynamics in relation to HIV risk practices are relevant and should be considered in the context of prevention efforts. Our findings suggest that the concepts of safe sex on our sample are highly contextual and therefore in some ways not dissimilar from those found among Portuguese heterosexuals 10,11, but still maintaining their specificity that deserves further inquiry. Study limitations The sample used for this study is not representative of Portuguese MSM. It is possible that men who felt uncomfortable with disclosing unsafe sex refrained from participating. Therefore the results of this study reflect the bias associated with a convenience sample containing highly educated and mostly professional individuals, sensitive to the topic of this study, motivated and willing to disclose private matters to a researcher. All participants had experience of meeting sexual partners online, one of the key focus of our research, and therefore our results may disproportionately reflect those experiences. Uncontrolled sensitivity to certain topics and unwilling bias in the selection of quotes to illustrate the issues being addressed is always a possibility in qualitative analysis. To
86 73 prevent this, standardized procedures were used as much as possible to provide bias-free results. Final remarks According to the latest European surveillance report 7, [f]or the countries in the EU/EEA and West, interventions to prevent and control HIV among MSM are the cornerstones of the HIV response (p.ix). Despite our modest sample size and limitations pointed out, we believe our results can contribute to inform the development of more effective health education policies and strategies aimed at promoting safer sex and risk reduction among MSM living in Portugal. Considering that in general participants in our study were aware of HIV transmission risks and tended to protect themselves in most sexual practices, prevention efforts should do more than just provide information and focus on communication and negotiation skills both on and offline. They should also work towards building sustainability of safer practices that will be affected by different contexts of life, types of partners and social influences. Changing trends in HIV in Portugal as shown by the infection rates for MSM over the last decade suggest that larger surveys as well as qualitative studies should be conducted to support effective and unbiased national prevention efforts.
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92 79 2. Study 1: Sexual use of the Internet: Perceived impact on MSM s views of self and others Nodin, N., Carballo-Diéguez, A., & Leal, I. M. (2013). Sexual use of the Internet: Perceived impact on MSM s views of self and others. New Media & Society, 16, 5,
93 80 Abstract An ongoing scientific and cultural debate has questioned whether using the Internet has changed users in relevant ways. We investigated whether men who have sex with men and who use the Internet to meet sexual partners consequently perceived any changes in themselves and in others. We interviewed 36 men and conducted a thematic analysis of the interview transcripts. Results suggest that many men perceived both sexual and non-sexual self changes, such as a greater acceptance of their sexuality, the exploration of new sexual possibilities, more assertive communication styles and, for a few, the occurrence of an excessive online behavior and diminished emotional availability towards others. Some also tended to be more suspicious of others both on and offline. We believe our results help build a strong case for the existence of a subjectively perceived Internet-related impact on these men s selves and on their perception of others. Keywords: MSM, sexual behaviour, men, Internet, self-perception
94 81 Introduction A significant portion of online communication is aimed at getting to know others for relationships and sex. Friend Finder Networks, owner of several dating and swingers websites, for instance, claims to have over 528 million users worldwide across its various sites (http://ffn.com, accessed Sept. 2012). Finkel et al. (2012) suggested that easy access to large numbers of partners that would otherwise not be reachable; facilitated communication between users; and the matching features offered by many dating sites might help explain this reality. Studies in several parts of the world show that many men who have sex with men (MSM) also use the Internet as a way to meet others (Bolding et al., 2005; Frankland et al., 2008; Ko et al., 2012; Mettey et al., 2003). While to a large extent their expectations and experiences when dating online will be similar to those of the general population, MSM also experience specificities associated with their sexual interests and with the stigma that still affects homosexuality. Some of the specific motives presented by MSM to seek others online are the anonymity that the Internet allows (Brown et al., 2005) and the easier screening of others with similar interests (Davis et al., 2006). MSM s use of the Internet has been studied extensively in relation to sexual risk behaviors (e.g. Berg, 2008; Carballo-Diéguez et al., 2009), in response to public health concerns following suspicion of increased risk of sexually transmitted infections following online encounters (McFarlane et al., 2000). However, other aspects of these men s use of the Internet for sexual purposes have been surprisingly understudied. Given that many MSM spend a considerable amount of time seeking and interacting, sexually and non-sexually, with other men met online we question whether this has changed their perceptions of themselves or of others. The question of what happens to people when they spend several hours a day using and communicating through the Internet is not new (Rheingold, 2000). It links with the ongoing discussion about the possibilities of self exploration and transformation that the Internet allegedly facilitates. For instance Turkle (1995), in her early works, discussed how virtual games allowed identity exploration and deconstruction within the relatively safe and disembodied online environment, which in many ways mirrored but also multiplied the myriad of roles people assume in their non-virtual lives. Other authors have used Goffman s self-presentation theory (1959), a powerful social interaction theatrical metaphor, to the online social context. To our interest, Goffman s theory has been applied to understanding if and how using dating websites influences identity and the quality of interactions established online and offline, generally confirming that indeed it does in many different ways (Hardey, 2002; Whitty, 2008). If identities are constructed via social exchange in significant spaces, as symbolic interactionists such as Goffman suggest, it is expected that the contacts established on
95 82 dating websites will have an impact upon identity construction and therefore facilitate change (Yurchisin et al., 2005). While we inform our research with the symbolic interactionist perspective we are not limited by it as we approach the topic of Internet impact on the self from a broader, culturally informed perspective. Internet-induced psychological and social change is already considered by many to be an accomplished fact and is in the center of a heated debate (Chatfield, 2012). While some search and find proof that Internet use has a positive impact on psychosocial well-being (Amichai-Hamburger et al., 2011; Kraut et al., 2002), many others claim the Internet has disrupted our relationships (Lanier, 2010; Marche, 2012; Turkle, 2011), as well as different aspects of cognitive processing (Carr, 2008, 2010). With our study we aim at extending this debate to include MSM s online sexual experience (OSE) and dating practices. Sexual use of the Internet: Consequential or Inconsequential? Davis et al., (2006) exposed two opposing arguments on the relationship between the Internet and sexuality. On one side, there are those who believe that sex happened to the Internet (Davis et al., 2006: 474). According to this hypothesis, the Internet is just another technological outlet for sexuality that, like video recorders, cell phones and other media, has been used for sexual gratification. On the other side, one of the trends in looking at sexual behavior in relation to the Internet attributes agency to the medium ( the Internet happened to sexual practice ; Davis et al., 2006: 473), i.e., it assumes the Internet influences the behaviors that it facilitates and fuels the creation of new ones (Adam et al., 2011). For instance, as mentioned, some have suggested that the Internet may be inducing more sexual risk behaviors, such as sex without condoms and sex associated with drug use (Liau et al., 2006; McKirnan et al., 2007). Remien and colleagues (2006) found that 61% of MSM perceived changing their sexual behavior since using the Internet. Fifty-one percent indicated they had more sexual partners, 41% more oral sex, 30% more anal sex, and 26% more unprotected anal sex. Participants also associated using the Internet with increased acceptance of their sexual orientation. Another line of research has investigated the existence of sexual compulsivity associated with Internet use (Corley and Hook, 2012; Meerkerk et al., 2006), including among MSM (Daneback et al., 2006; Parsons et al., 2008). One study identified a small portion of Internet sexual users for whom the medium seemed to have facilitated an excessive behavior that would otherwise not have emerged (Cooper et al., 1999). Both lines of research, sexual risk behavior and sexual compulsivity, often suggest that the virtual context that mediates the behaviors may be responsible for its problematic outcomes (Perry et al., 2007).
96 83 Furthermore, researchers have discussed how information and communication technologies are channels for different types of sexual expression as well as they are increasingly constitutive of them (Hearn, 2008). Others have also claimed that while the Internet reinforces traditional norms associated with intimacy, it can alter the nature of relationships by creating new rules and opportunities (Barraket and Henry-Waring, 2008). In line with this, Hurley (2007) suggested that new media technologies might be reshaping sex as part of everyday life. Therefore, many researchers and academics are questioning the extent to which using the Internet may be affecting people who use it for sexual purposes. As Dowsett and colleagues put it: [s]ome see the internet as a better telephone, as merely a better way to communicate; but we ask: does this new form of communication change us, producing new cultural norms, new ways to be and do? (Dowsett et al., 2008: 122). It is a discussion that Barraket and Henry-Waring (2008) have suggested may find its conceptual alma mater in Haraway s Cyborg Manifesto (1991) that questioned the boundaries of man and machine in the context of feminist critique. According to those authors the cyborg allusion may be useful to understand the transformations of intimacy online in its intersection with the offline, not in spite of it (Barraket and Henry-Waring, 2008), aligning with criticisms of the online disembodied hypothesis put forward by earlier research (Stone, 1991; Turkle, 1995). If online it becomes clearer that sex does not require the physical presence of a partner or indeed a real partner (e.g. Gaspar and Carvalheira, 2012), OSE is nevertheless fueled by real bodies, may those be on the screen or in person following an online interaction. It is in the intersection and the blurring between the virtual and the real (van Dorn, 2011) that we propose to conduct our analysis of MSM s online dating and sexual networking experience. Particularly we will be looking at two specific aspects of this experience: perceived self change and altered perceptions of others. Although we will not be looking into actual changes in men s behaviors and sexual habits, we hope to get insight into whether these hypothetical changes have substance. Therefore, we ask: Has OSE affected MSM s perception of themselves and of others? Is it possible that some of these perceptions actually equate to real changes, the coming into being of new realities and behaviors? Methods Participant recruitment This study was approved by an ethics evaluation conducted by the Scientific Committee of Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada, Lisbon, Portugal. Participants were recruited online and by word of mouth. Other methods included widespread ing via professional networks, including LGBT and non-lgbt community-
97 84 based organizations. The majority of the final sample, however, was collected by using a profile placed on a popular website used by Portuguese MSM to meet others (Figure 1, See Appendix 1 Screen shot of recruitment profile and recruitment text). Some individuals actively responded to the profile (58.3% of the final sample) and others were recruited by sending eight messages daily (the limit set to non-paying members of the website) to randomly selected members who were online, inviting them to participate (13.9%). Potential participants were contacted by telephone and screened for eligibility: male, aged 18 or older, Portuguese or residing in Portugal for at least one full year, fluency in Portuguese and having had at least one sexual contact with another man met online. Lifetime OSE was considered in order to include a diverse sample of participants and experiences. Recruitment continued until no significantly new topics were identified in the interviews. It took place from May to December Procedures Participants were scheduled for face-to-face interviews. Informed consent was obtained at the beginning of each. Interviews were audio-recorded with participants permission. After the interview, participants were asked to complete a written questionnaire covering demographics, sexual health and behavior. Measures A semi-structured interview guide was used to ask participants about Internet use, meeting partners online for sex, and safe sex. The guide was designed for this study based on that developed by Carballo-Diéguez et al. (2009), and amended after initial assessment of validity for Portuguese-speaking interviewees. For the assessment, three volunteers were interviewed and the experience used to inform changes. Regarding this article, the interview guide included probes that helped participants compare pre- and post-internet use experience; offline and online sexual experiences; and to explore subjectively perceived changes attributed to online experience. Coding Our analysis followed the procedures described by Braun and Clarke (2006). We used an inductive and semantic approach to the data informed by our research questions. The audio-recorded interviews were transcribed, cleaned and coded. For the current analysis, we developed a basic functional code named Impact of Internet use. It was initially used to extract the data set from the data corpus for this study and covered all sections of transcripts that included participants experience, evaluation and reflections of how meeting other men through the Internet for sexual purposes could have influenced their perception of
98 85 themselves or of other people. A thorough reading and re-reading of this material generated initial codes and later informed the identification of themes by searching for patterns of meaning in the coded material, always in relation with the topic under analysis. Analytical bias was minimized by clear and consensual discussion and definition of codes by coauthors and by using transparent documentation (NVivo 8.0). Codes were also systematically verified for internal and external consistency, checking for overlaps and coherence of coded material. Reporting The categories of analysis used were: a) Altered sexual self-perception; b) Altered nonsexual self-perception and c) Altered perception of others. A No impact code was also created to accommodate content pertaining to the absence of perceived Internet influence. Quotations were translated from Portuguese maintaining the meaning and tone of the participants testimonies using equivalent idiomatic expressions when appropriate. Results Thirty-six participants, ages ranging from 18 to 62 (x =34.4; sd=9.1), were recruited and interviewed. The large majority self-identified as white (91.4%) and gay (94.4%) with the remaining identifying as bisexual (5.6%). Thirteen indicated being in an ongoing relationship (36.1%), one with a female. We believe our results help build a strong case for the existence of an impact of OSE on these men s perceptions of themselves and of others. These changes seem to be mainly, but not strictly, sex-related. In order to better illustrate how we arrived to these conclusions, we organized our results thematically. Themes relevant to this analysis were: Sexual diversification; Acceptance of sexual orientation; Different communication patterns; Excessive use; and Altered perception of others. Some men, even when specifically asked, said they didn t identify any changes in themselves or in their views of others as a result of their OSE. These, however, were a minority and we believe their views only illustrate the diversity of men s experiences regarding this issue. Sexual diversification If the Internet and other places where MSM socialize allow some common social and sexual experiences, the Internet has specifically delivered one specific relevant dimension for some men: volume. Facilitating access to high numbers of partners, in some cases,
99 86 exponentially increased men s sexual and homosocial experiences. With that also came an increased variety in sexual experiences and outlooks on sex. P From the perspective of the persons I ve met online, I think Well, it is a different way to meet someone, but I think that the only difference is that, maybe, [online] I meet more people than I used to. I So it allows having more contacts, is that it? P Well, not necessarily only to have more, but the quality of the contacts I think is different. I think it s better. (#017, 62) According to this participant, the Internet allowed a quantitative shift, but also a qualitative one. The Internet was not a mere vehicle that increased the numbers of his sexual partners but it also affected the experiences that derived from it. Diversity in numbers associated with changes in other aspects of our interviewees sexuality was a common theme that emerged from our analysis. For instance, other participants discussed how having more partners allowed new ways to conceptualize and experience sex. Others still elaborated on what they considered new possibilities that occurred because of the Internet. For these, the medium apparently allowed the emergence of activities that had been fantasized but never experienced before. These ranged from plain online sexual interaction (cybersex), to in-theflesh practices made possible by contacting others with similar interests. Despite the fact that men described quite different experiences in type and intensity, these spoke of the erotic possibilities that the Internet allowed and of the uses men made of it. For me [cybersex] is not a gratifying experience because there is no physical touch, because it is not However, I can say that I still do it but more as an exhibitionist and voyeuristic thing. (#046, 36) Out of curiosity I had a profile at [website specialized in Bondage, Domination, Sadism and Masochism] because there was a time when I had some interest in understanding how it would be like to be in a dominant/submissive relationship. I was curious about that and eventually had an experience and, frankly, I thought it was better to leave it at that. (#026, 29) Both participants expressed ambivalent feelings about their experiences and their descriptions are marked by a sense of disappointment or unease. Curiosity about practices considered deviant or minoritary by larger social discourses were explored, experimented upon and either added to the sexual repertoire or abandoned. This exploration of the sexual potential of the Internet may not necessarily have created new behavioral patterns, but it
100 87 allowed the exploration of the sexual self which may be transformative in itself, creating likes and dislikes, informing choices of partners and activities, but sometimes also creating outlets for niche sexual interests. Another participant, for instance, accessed websites specialized in brachioproctic eroticism (Donovanet al., 1986; colloquially fisting or fist fucking) and another joined one aimed at people who eroticize boots. These results suggest that the Internet may have created possibilities and opportunities that these men did not find or opt not to explore before having OSE. Therefore it may be opening up new ways of being sexually for these men, even if later they conclude that the fantasy was better than reality. Acceptance of sexual orientation In connection with the theme of sexual diversification, another pattern identified in these men s discourses was an increased self-confidence in dealing with sex in general, but more specifically with their sexual orientation. Men associated this change with exposure to a wider diversity of sexual partners and experiences than before their OSE. For many the Internet was experienced as a training ground of sorts, a place where they could go and experiment with being themselves feeling more relaxed about their private feelings and desires. [The Internet] is where people go when they don t feel so assured, where they can be more themselves and [where] they can talk freely. And when they go out into the [offline] world, they have developed internal resources that assure them, leaving them less fragile. That happened to me. Today, ( ) I m more confident in assuming my homosexuality, more assured, more open, more tolerant. (#054, 24) This participant, like others, suggested that his online experience lessened his internalized homophobia, allowing him to be more comfortable with himself and with other gay men. The more authentic self-expression that the Internet allowed, together with the interaction possibilities it opened up, created a space where his sexuality could be explored, experienced and assimilated. The strength drawn from this process appears to have had an actual impact in offline lived experience, transforming sexual and social understanding into new ways to feel and do. On topic, another participant mentioned how meeting men online that worked, like himself, in healthcare was comforting and allowed him to be more relaxed when interacting with others in general. Others spoke of their OSE increasing their confidence in being and assuming to be gay. This suggests that the internalized homophobia that many of these men
101 88 possibly acquired while growing up may to a certain extent be minimized or undone by the social and sexual experiences facilitated by the Internet. Different communication patterns Another aspect of altered self-perception that emerged from our analysis was related with communication patterns. This perceived change is both sexual and non-sexual and is associated with sexual and non-sexual contexts facilitated by the Internet. Some participants discussed how their communication with other men online, and consequently offline, was qualitatively different when compared with their pre-internet experience. Overall, they felt more able to interact intimately online, which they attributed both to the medium (the Internet facilitating textual communication) and to their willingness to disclose their feelings and desires to others within. This tendency was also pronounced when comparing the Internet with places where men go specifically to have sex with other men and where little is spoken: If you go to a cruising ground, sex comes first and then comes the rest (laughter). Not there [on the Internet]; there you ask everything. (#043, 31) Accordingly, and also in comparison with other contexts, the Internet was sometimes idealized as a good instrument to get to know someone before any offline interaction happened. The Internet reminds me, a little, of the way people used to get to know each other They would start by writing about themselves. ( ) [Online t]hey start to write about all kinds of things and I think that we can more easily create a friendship and get to know the person a little better before taking the next step. And in a sauna you may not even talk with the person, right? (#017, 62) With this nostalgic observation, this man seems to be discussing a need for emotional connection with potential sexual partners, something he doesn t find in other places. Simultaneously, he is constructing the Internet as a social environment that improves the quality of interactions, including those aimed at sex. This is significantly linked with the topic of authenticity that came up in several other interviews. I Are your behaviors of looking for sex different online from those you have elsewhere? P They certainly are ( ). People act differently face-to-face as compared to when they have a screen between them where they can t see each other, for whatever reason that might be. And people are more direct, meaning they censor a lot less what they say; they are a lot more spontaneous because they are not looking at the other person, they are protected by the screen between them.
102 89 I And is that true for you as well? P Of course (#033, 33) The computer screen as a filter leading to a lack of visual cues seems to facilitate intimate exposure and an increased sense of connection with others online. Again computermediated communication is associated with different quality of interactions, as opposed to what happens in other contexts. Furthermore, the impact of online experience is identified as also extending onto offline communication: It seems, because I have met a lot of people online and not having met anyone not having stabilized on a relationship or for not having found the sweetness I m looking for, it causes me to become cold with other people. I react towards people less tenderly (#018, 29) I Has your use of the Internet to meet people for sex influenced your behavior in any way? P No, I don t think so. I think sex, having lots of sex does change, right? It makes us feel more secure, accomplished, in better mood. It is a lot easier to work with me now than before. (#046, 36) Also, some men also talked about how the Internet changed their communication patterns with other men in sexual contexts. I Do you think the Internet had any influence on the way you interact with others? P It had a little. I started to be a lot more to the point with the questions I asked [in sexual interactions online and offline] and to be a lot more direct. I don t stall as much as I used to. (#044, 30) While this sexual directedness might be a repertoire acquisition common for many gay men, and indeed for many Internet users in the information era, our participants specifically associated their sexual and sometimes non-sexual assertiveness to the quality and quantity of sexual experiences they were having online. Having OSE seems to have facilitated men s sense of intimacy and closeness with others online and it has made their sexual dialogue more precise, their interactions more refined and focused. Changes also occurred offline and left some with new ways of interacting with others in both sexual and non-sexual contexts with desirable and undesirable outcomes.
103 90 Excessive use Many participants described what in their perception were experiences and periods of excessive use of the Internet as a means to interact and meet other men. A few mentioned that, at least for some time, being online became a central aspect of their existence, taking on time that they would otherwise dedicate to other activities and interests, particularly social interactions outside of the virtual realm. This excessive dedication to interacting with others on the Internet often did not affect other aspects of their lives to an extent that could be considered problematic. However, it effectively was perceived and narrated by the men as problematic and often left them questioning the ways they managed their time. I feel this need to go check on [gay men s networking website] and see if anyone sent me a message. (...) And this bothers me because I feel it as addictive and you get hooked. (...) I have been for a whole Sunday, stupidly, looking at a screen waiting for someone to message me (...) And then I think: what am I doing like a fool looking at the screen a whole afternoon instead of going to get some sun, go for coffee with someone, have a chat or go see a movie? (#4, 38) The reflexive and self-critical appraisal provided by this participant is similar to that of others in that it considers using the Internet to meet other men as affecting his personal will and use of time. Others also spoke of a certain developed indifference towards interacting with people offline, suggesting that the convenience of chatting online was inversely proportional to investing in real world relationships. This was often bitterly evaluated and selfcriticized by the men. For a minority of participants, however, the allure of the Internet may have actually caused a stronger impact and verged on the pathological, with considerable negative impact to wellbeing and to different aspects of these men s lives. At some point I was going every night to the [gay] chat rooms and that was my second life... If I couldn t go I would be sick; if the Internet was not working that night it was terrible and at some point I did lead a double life, as I had a normal life with a job, a house, kids and all those things, and then I had my second life online. (...) And I lived it intensely; to the point it was making me suffer, and nothing else mattered to me. (#010, 42) Despite minoritary, this and other accounts speak of the different and sometimes clearly problematic experiences that some of the men are having online, impacting on their day-today activities and relationships. For these, the sexual potential of the Internet seems to have engaged with specific individual needs in strong and possibly problematic ways. Accidentally or not, the periods of intensive use described by some participants often coincided with initial exposure to the web; with the start of its use at home or were confined
104 91 to specific periods, such as vacation time. However, for several, despite continuing to use the Internet for the same social and sexual purposes they excessively did before, their use tended to stabilize after a while. This suggests that after a period of maladaptive behavior, apparently triggered by the erotic allure of the Internet, some spontaneously developed mechanisms to self-regulate those behaviors. Altered perception of others The other question that we tried to answer was whether men s OSE affected their perception of others. We did find evidence of such an impact, with most of the reports regarding this issue being quite grim. The social experience allowed by the Internet seemed in many cases to have increased suspiciousness about others, especially because of the apparent lack of honesty that many men claim they found online. I Do you think the Internet has influenced in some way how you deal with others? P No (pause). Unless if it is that I m more suspicious. I And why s that? P Because on the Internet there are a lot of people who must live in a wonderland and they send to another computer a person, an image that is not of themselves ( ) I And do you think that made you become more suspicious of people in general? Or only regarding what goes on online? P Well, on the Internet I m super-suspicious, I am. In general [offline], with people I think I am as well by nature and more and more each day (...) I But does that mean that online you didn t used to be as suspicious as you are offline? P In the beginning [when I started to use the Internet] I used to fall for all the petty lies, but then I had to adjust. (#043, 31) There are two relevant levels of experience described in this account. One refers to a certain naiveté with which he initially went online, which contrasted with his usual offline suspiciousness. This openness to others links with the theme of altered communication patterns, particularly the increased sense of connection some men mention feeling when communicating online. The other level of his experience regards the learning process he went through while interacting with other men online and how he changed his attitude because of the lies and deceits he claimed to have found. Other men in our study had similar perceptions and characterized their impact as one of the predominantly negative consequences associated with their OSE. Yes, [the Internet] has changed me, I think I grew a lot because I think I developed defenses and I started to evaluate other people s behavior, not only gay people, I think it made me grow up and be more aware of or suspicious, trying to identify signals, signals
105 92 I don t know, of criticism or I m not quite sure how to explain, but I think I learned a lot through the contact with people online. I think it has provided me with some education for society. (#024, 27) In the case of this participant, parallel to the theme of lost innocence that affected the expectations he had of other people in general, there is also an increased sensitivity towards being the target of negative reactions of others, which he reframes as something that may actually be useful. In doing so, he clearly identifies the Internet as influencing his views of others. This theme adds depth to our understanding of the effects that OSE seems to be having upon these men s perceptions and behaviors. In contrast with other more optimistic assessments of Internet use, for some participants it provided a less fulfilling experience, unveiling what seems to be a world of half-truths, deceits and lack of honesty. These experiences changed men s outlook on others online but also offline. Discussion The debate around the psychological and behavioral impact of the Internet is not new. Nicholas Carr (2008), for instance, has been one of the voices arguing that the increased use of the Internet is changing us. In an article published in The Atlantic, he wrote: Thanks to the ubiquity of text on the Internet ( ) we may well be reading more today than we did in the 1970s or 1980s, when television was our medium of choice. But it s a different kind of reading, and behind it lies a different kind of thinking perhaps even a new sense of the self (Carr, 2008). Turkle wrote that the Internet is changing the way we think, the nature of our sexuality, the form of our communities, our very identities. (Turkle, 2004: 19). However, both authors have a rather negative outlook on the impact that this use is having upon us. Carr (2010) has argued that excessive use of resources like Google is turning our minds into a desert of ideas. Turkle, who was quite enthusiastic about human-machine interactions in her earlier work (Turkle, 1995), in her latest book Alone together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each other (2011), as the title not very subtly suggests, is now more conservative on her approach to that very same issue. While with our study we certainly found some worrisome aspects of MSM s OSE, including altered perceptions of others and, for a minority, behaviors that may verge on the problematic, we cannot align with these authors in their global perspectives. Our participants experiences were varied and seem to have led some into important paths of self discovery and personal improvement that they did not think were possible; for others the Internet facilitated the exploration of unknown personal and sexual potential. OSE also seems to
106 93 have informed a varied view of other men and of people in general, as well as of sex. And for a few their online sexual digressions had no perceived impact at all. The purpose of this article was to better understand an understudied phenomenon related to MSM s online dating experiences. As shown, we found several indicators that clearly point in the direction of our initial suppositions, i.e., that associated with their OSE, men perceived several changes in their views of themselves and of others. This impact seemed to be mainly sexual. For instance, several men discussed how using the Internet has made them more confident about sex and their sexual orientation. These results align with what other researchers have reported (Remien et al., 2006) and can be explained by the acculturation process that many gay men undergo when starting to interact sexually and socially with other gay men (e.g. Ritter and Terndrup, 2002). In fact, the increase in numbers of social and sexual partners seems to be one of our key findings. According to Weatherburn and colleagues the Internet helps some men who would otherwise have little sex to have some. And it helps others who already have plenty to have even more (Weatherburn et al., 2003: 2). This expanded experience, according to several of those we interviewed, was pivotal in the changes they identified in themselves, such as an increased sexual assertiveness. Other researchers have suggested that MSM s access to more sexual partners online could be creating problematic behaviors (Bull and McFarlane, 2000). We did identify a certain self-perceived adventurousness that led some to the exploration of uncommon sexual activities that apparently they would not have pursued were it not for the possibilities opened by the Internet. This seems to be in line, for instance, with findings that associate Internet sex seeking with a greater interest in fisting (Mettey et al., 2003). It suggests that the Internet may be opening up virtual and real spaces of desire that were not explicit or conscious before. These new possibilities often translated into in-the-flesh practices, even if sometimes reality turned out to be disappointing when compared with fantasy. Even so, the erotic fluidity between the virtual and the tangible is not to be disregarded. As reported elsewhere (Nodin, Carballo-Diéguez & Leal, 2013), when specifically asked about their sexual practices with men met online, none of the participants in our study mentioned having had sexual risk behaviors. However, bareback sex, i.e. sex where condoms are intentionally not used, has become an activity some MSM seek in many parts of the world (e.g. Halkitis, 2007; Mansergh, et al., 2002). References to it are widespread in websites that men use to meet others for sex (Grov, 2006), and it is eroticized through gay pornography also easily found online (Dean, 2008). If the Internet is a catalyst for sexual fantasies and practices, the possibility that some of these become problematic from a public health perspective should be further studied and specific prevention strategies put in place, as has been extensively suggested (Blackwell, 2007; Hurley, 2007).
107 94 This is particularly relevant as we identified behaviors associated with using the web in our study that border the problematic. The Internet seems to have touched underlying aspects of the desiring self (Davis et al., 2006) of some of the participants in our study that, after being elicited, became difficult to control, leading to situations described as of excessive sexual-related Internet use. This suggests that the Internet may have a pull factor (Rosenmann and Safir, 2006), actively triggering or facilitating problematic psychological dimensions of some of the men, in line with what Cooper and colleagues (1999) described. However, even if a relationship between the Internet and problematic sexual behavior seems apparent in some cases, the reading of results like ours should be cautious, as the connection between OSE and sexual risk behaviors, despite being under researchers scrutiny for at least a decade, remains unclear (Adam et al., 2011; Al-Tayyib et al., 2009). Furthermore, the Internet may also be a relevant medium to facilitate HIV prevention (Rosser et al., 2012) and, we might add, to allow the safest sex of all: cybersex, i.e. online sexual interactions (Carvalheira and Gomes, 2003). Overall, men in our study tended to positively evaluate their altered self-perception. For instance, OSE may have enhanced men s interpersonal skills, allowing them to have better and more authentic communication with others on and offline. This again may be a product of the volume of partners they were exposed to, but it may additionally have been influenced by the anonymity that the medium provides, known to decrease social inhibitions (Joinson, 2007; Suler, 2004). This positive outlook at self-changes contrasts with the perception that men developed of others following their OSE. Many described losing trust in people due to the dissimulation that they claim reigns online. Furthermore, this increased suspiciousness is not exclusively directed at men met online, the alleged source of the reaction, but for some it has become a general way of looking at others, also offline. This change in perception certainly speaks more of the men who point the finger than of the targets of their criticism per se. Not to say that dissimulation is absent from the online world. It has been argued that the Internet offers many opportunities for identity exploration that do not comply with traditional notions of honesty (Turkle, 1995). However, for some, the Internet does allow a safe and positive sampling of roles and identities, and therefore can be an important vehicle for self-exploration, for example, among adolescents questioning their sexuality (Subrahmanyam et al., 2004), and indeed for MSM exploring their sexuality, as some of the men in our sample did with positive outcomes. The exploration of some, however, will intersect with the expectations and desires of others who may become frustrated with repeated mismatched online experiences. We may conclude then that in the deeply interactive context of online sexual (and social) experience different levels and types of self-presentations meet, apparently facilitating
108 95 fundamental, even if subjectively perceived, changes. We therefore believe our study provides ample credit to the symbolic interactionist hypothesis applied to the realm of the virtual (Hardey, 2002; Whitty, 2008). Although it is unclear exactly what role technology plays in this process, it nonetheless seems to shape the ways interactions and therefore changes occur. If the boundaries between man and machine have long been blurred (Haraway, 1991), the Internet seems to have deepened and amplified this effect, driven by our very human nature, the same nature that seeks pleasure, but above all the warmth of human interaction in the coldest of technological settings. It surely is to continue to be so as more sophisticated gadgets and newer technologies open up new social and sexual possibilities for exploration, use, and sometimes abuse. Limitations Our analysis was limited by our reliance in our participants perceptions of change following their OSE. We can question to what extent their self-evaluated perceptions translated into effective changes, for instance, steady ways of looking at others or the development of certain behavioral patterns. Considering the expressed goal of the interviews in which these men participated (in general, to discuss their OSE), and the types of questions asked, we can also wonder whether the men were induced into thinking of connections that didn t exist, just because they were asked to consider them. It is also unclear to what extent some of the changes that were reported, such as a better acceptance of sexual orientation, were in fact due to men s Internet use or if they could have happened anyway, for instance, with more sexual experience or simply as a consequence of life experience. However, we consider that the perception that men have of change and the narratives they build around them are of great importance to the construction of the self and can equate to actual and steady ways of perceiving the self and others. We used a convenience sample collected mostly through one specific website and is not representative of MSM who use the Internet for sexual purposes. Therefore, our results cannot be generalized to other MSM. As interviews were conducted face-to-face, a social desirability factor may have affected the results, with men less willing to discuss deeper personal or sexual impact of their OSE. However, we believe to have contributed to the ongoing discussion about how information technologies are shaping and affecting people in different ways. As technology continues to evolve, so will MSM s experiences of using it and possibly their perceptions of who they are, sexually and otherwise. Although our results were collected at a time when smart phones and mobile applications were in their early stages of development, we believe that understanding what happened in the recent past of these
109 96 technologies and the uses men made of them can help us understand the present and prepare for the emergence of new patterns of online sexual networking for MSM and others alike.
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116 Study 2: Validation of a scale assessing perceptions, processes and preferences of using the Internet to meet sexual partners among men who have sex with men Nodin, N., Leal, I., & Carballo-Diéguez, A. (submitted a). Validation of a scale assessing perceptions, processes and preferences of using the Internet to meet sexual partners among men who have sex with men.
117 104 Abstract This study examined the psychometric properties of a new standardised instrument, the Sexual Use of the Internet Scale (SUIS), to measure different aspects of how gay and bisexual men use the Internet to meet sexual partners. Approximately 317 self-identified gay and bisexual men with ages ranging from who met selection criteria participated in the study. Data were collected online. An exploratory factor analysis identified six thematically interconnected and statistically coherent factors, which included 42 of the initial 65 items of the scale. Altogether these factors explained 51% of the variance of the scale covering different aspects of men s online sexual preferences and practices. These factors were: Positive impact of the Internet, Sexual self-exposure online, Advantages of meeting men online, Preference for meeting men online, Mistrust of men online, and Negative impact of the Internet. The Sexual Use of the Internet Scale could be used to evaluate gay and bisexual men s perceptions, processes and preferences associated with using the Internet to meet sexual partners, including non-problematic aspects of this experience, which have been largely overlooked and understudied, particularly in this population. The SUIS may be used to complement other measures of these men s erotic uses of the Internet. Key words: gay, bisexual, men, Internet, scale, SUIS
118 105 Introduction A growing academic debate has discussed the influence of Internet use in the ways people think and socialize (Goren, 2003; Litowitz, 2012; Thompson, 2013; Tylim, 2012) also voicing concerns about the potential for negative impact of such use (e.g. Lanier, 2010; Turkle, 2011). Social research has started to study the effects of online dating and sexual networking on various psychosocial dimensions of those who engage in these practices, highlighting changes in the nature of relationships (Barraket & Henry-Waring, 2008; Dowsett, Williams, Ventuneac & Carballo-Diéguez, 2008; Finkel, Eastwick, Karney, Reis and Sprecher, 2012), in the experience of identity and of the self (Couch & Liamputtong, 2008; Davis et al., 2006; Heino, Ellison & Gibbs, 2010; Yurchisin, Watchravesringkan & Brown, 2005) and in the perception of others within dating services, particularly by a process of commodification of potential mates (Best & Delmege, 2012; Heino et al., 2010). However, limited research has studied the potential for positive impact of using online dating and sexual networking websites, or other aspects of this experience, particularly amongst men who have sex with men (MSM) who have taken on the Internet as a preferred environment to seek sexual and romantic partnerships (Bolding et al., 2005; Frankland et al., 2008; Pitts et al., 2007). Furthermore, there is a dearth of standardised instruments that may be applied to this field of inquiry and for this population. This paper and the scale it presents address these gaps in the scientific information. MSM and the Internet The diversity of contexts that MSM use for the purpose of finding sex and the creativity they apply to that pursuit has been documented (e.g. Dowsett, 1999; Leap, 1999; Villaamil & Jociles, 2011), suggesting that cyberspace could just be another one of these contexts. However, other factors may also explain this enthusiastic uptake. For example, if anonymity accounts for the popularity of using of the Internet to find sexual partners for many people regardless of their sexual orientation (e.g. Carvalheira & Gomes, 2003; Cooper, 1998; Strassberg & Holty, 2003), research has shown that particularly for MSM who do not identify as gay or who fear negative consequences from disclosing their sexual orientation, anonymity may be the main factor explaining extensive online sexual networking (Brown, Maycock & Burns, 2005). Studies by McKenna and colleagues (McKenna & Bargh, 1998; McKenna, Green & Smith, 2001) corroborated that individuals with marginalised identities, including nonheterosexuals, feel compelled to use the Internet to interact with others with similar experiences due to the anonymous (and therefore safe ) nature of that medium. They also found that due to the influence of such experiences, those users online selves merged onto their offline ones, leading to the demarginalization of one s sexual self or the acquisition of a
119 106 positive sexual identity where before there were feelings of isolation and shame (McKenna, Green & Smith, 2001, p.309). Similarly, Rosenmann and Safir (2006) have discussed how Internet specific factors, for example, the interaction with similar others who will positively condone their preferences and activities, may cause a sense of sexual empowerment for individuals with minority sexual preferences. Additionally, the Internet makes screening for others with similar sexual interests easy for MSM (Davis et al., 2006). Men may seek partners online, for instance, for sex without condoms (e.g. Blackwell, 2008; Carballo-Diéguez et al., 2009; Grov, 2006), for fetish sex (Mettey et al., 2003) or they may look for others who fit within specific sexual position preferences, such as that of being the receptive or the insertive partner in anal intercourse (Klein, 2008). If online dating and sexual networking have come to define much of these men s sexual dynamics and partnerships (Fernández-Dávila & Zaragoza, 2011), there has been limited scholarly interest in dimensions of these practices beyond those pertaining to sexual risk behaviours (Berg, 2008; Ko et al., 2012; Rosser, Miner & Bockting, 2009). Additionally, as we will demonstrate, the options for the standardised assessment of other psychosocial aspects of using the Internet for sexual purposes are restricted, and even more so when considering MSM as the target population. Measuring sexual use of the Internet Few standardised instruments are available to evaluate the relationship between sexuality and the Internet. Existing instruments mostly focus on problematic aspects of online sexual practices. For instance, there are three scales that evaluate online sexual compulsivity (Weiss, 2013; Young, 2013) including Delmonico s Internet Sex Screening Test or ISST (Delmonico & Miller, 2003). Diverse measures have been developed to assess other problematic behaviours such as Internet-initiated sex crimes against minors (Wolak, Finkelhor & Mitchell, 2004) and sexual risk behaviours associated with finding partners online (Buhi, Klinkenberger & McFarlane, 2013; Grov et al., 2007). A few instruments cover non-problematic aspects of the links between sexuality and the Internet, for instance evaluating HIV prevention delivered online (Pequegnat et al., 2007; Williams, Bowen & Ei, 2010). Also, the Sex and the Internet Scale (SIS) was developed to measure attitudes toward using the Internet for obtaining sexuality-related information, for establishing personal connections and for sexual entertainment (Goodson, McCormick & Evans, 2000). Finally, the erotic cyber-communication scale (ECCS) was created to study the sexual arousing effect of online sexual networking amongst MSM (Robinson & Moskowitz, 2013), making it one of very few instruments reviewed specifically developed for MSM. Furthermore, of all the aforementioned scales, only the ISST, the SIS and the ECCS have
120 107 had their psychometric qualities published resulting in limited options for the standardised study of MSM s use of the Internet for sexual purposes. Given this gap in the academic information, we decided to develop an instrument for MSM that allowed a more holistic insight into their sexual uses of the Internet based on their own interests and experiences and informed by the existing literature. This article presents and discusses the development and assessment of the psychometric properties of this instrument, the Sexual Use of the Internet Scale (SUIS). Method Procedures In 2006 a qualitative exploratory study was conducted in order to better understand Portuguese MSM s perceptions, motivations and practices associated with Internet sexual networking (deleted for anonymity). The thematic analysis that was conducted informed the development of a questionnaire aimed at expanding further our understanding of these issues. This questionnaire was programmed using SSI Web Survey software, hosted on a website created for this study, tested and launched. This study was approved by an ethics assessment conducted by the Scientific Committee of ISPA Instituto Universitário de Ciências Psicológicas, Sociais e da Vida, Lisbon, Portugal. Measures The questionnaire that included the SUIS also incorporated questions about participant demographics; relationship status; sexual behaviour and orientation, among other. The SUIS was formatted as a 5-point Likert scale (Completely disagree to Completely agree) and in its original version included 65 items. These items were based on the experiences and themes that were identified during the qualitative phase of the study (deleted for anonymity), with some being adapted directly from thoughts and expressions formulated by the men who were interviewed. All items were related to various aspects of the experience of using the Internet to meet sexual partners, including perceived ways by which that behaviour might affect users (e.g. Using the Internet to meet other men has helped me to better accept my homosexuality or bisexuality ); perceptions of others (e.g. Men tend to lie more when chatting online ); preference and advantages of using the Internet to meet partners (e.g. Online it is easier to meet the men that I really want to meet ); difficulties with the online experience (e.g. I waste a lot of time looking for men online); among other (Table 2). Study Sample The study was advertised online via ing, using ads on websites targeted at gay men, through LGBT organizations and word of mouth. The questionnaire was online from
121 108 January through June During that period, a total of 1351 people accessed the questionnaire. We only retained for this study the completed questionnaires of men selfidentifying as gay or bisexual aged 18 or older (n=317). Analysis The SUIS was evaluated by using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in order to explore its matrix of correlations with extraction of factors using a principal component analysis (PCA), followed by a Varimax rotation. The scree plot rule (Cattell, 1966) was used for the retention of common factors because the eigenvalue-greater-than-one rule would lead to the retention of a number of factors that would not be thematically viable. Analyses were carried out using SPSS 20 software. Results Characteristics of the sample Average participant age was 30.8 (sd=9.4 [18-62]). The majority indicated they lived on a big city (58.7%), followed by those who lived on a small town (23.7%), on a village (15.1%) and on a rural area (2.5%). Seventy-eight percent identified as gay with the remainder identifying as bisexual; however, only 55.5% of the total sample reported being exclusively attracted to men when using an adapted Kinsey-scale (Kinsey, Pomeroy & Martin, 1948). Sensitivity Analysis The psychometric sensitivity of the items of the SUIS was evaluated by using skewness (Sk) and kurtosis (Ku) asymmetry coefficients. None of the items reached Sk and Ku factors of above 3 or 10 respectively in repeated absolute values, which would be considered indicative of sensitivity problems and significant deviation from normality (Kline, 2011). TABLE 1 HERE Factorial Validation and Reliability Analysis The EFA with all the items had a KMO of.859, suggesting that the items were appropriate for this analysis. The communalities were above.5 for all items, thereby all contributed to the factorial structure reached. This analysis produced a factorial structure of 16 factors in respect to the rule of values above one. Altogether these factors explained 63.7% of all observed variance. Nevertheless, this solution was thematically problematic and not all items saturated the factors that were produced. Furthermore some of the factors only included one or two items. According to the scree plot rule six or seven factors should be kept, which was coherent with the range of topics used to create the scale. Retaining six
122 109 factors using all of the items led to a solution in which the total variance explained was of 44%. However there were several items with factorial weights bellow.5 that therefore should be eliminated. Items were progressively eliminated until a solution was reached that was statistically as well as thematically acceptable. The final model included 42 items, a KMO of.859 and a factorial structure of six latent dimensions that altogether explained 51% of the variance of the scale. Factorial weights for all items were above.5 except for item 44r7 (Factor 4). We decided to keep this item because it was thematically coherent with the factor where it was located and eliminating it would not improve the factorial structure of the scale. TABLE 2 HERE The majority of the communalities were higher than 50%. The scale presented high internal consistency, as measured by Cronbach s alpha (Table 2), for the first two factors; factors 3 and 4 had a moderate internal consistency and the last two factors had a lower internal consistency (Maroco & Garcia-Marques, 2006). Thematic Analysis of Factors A thematic analysis of the items included in each of the factors obtained was conducted. This procedure intended on identifying and describing the essence of each factor. Table 3 presents the names and contents of all six factors of the SUIS. TABLE 3 HERE Altogether the factors describe diverse but thematically linked aspects of the online sexual networking experience of MSM that incorporate dimensions of self-perception (F1 and F6), perception of others (F5) and of the advantages of using the Internet (F3), as well as preferences associated with that experience (F4) and finally of the affective dynamics of sexual exposure online (F2). Discussion This study investigated the psychometric properties of a new instrument, the Sexual use of the Internet Scale or SUIS, by using a sample of 317 gay and bisexual men who use the Internet to meet sexual partners. It allowed us to extend the research further by contributing to a better understanding of how these experiences are quantifiably measured. By using an EFA we reached a solution for the scale that included 42 items and a factorial structure of six latent dimensions. These dimensions are thematically coherent and covered distinct but interconnected aspects of MSM s experience online, including perceptions of selfchange; perceptions of others online; perceived advantages of using the medium; processes of sexual self-exposure online; and reasons and contexts behind the preference for the online sexual experience.
123 110 Although all of the items and dimensions are related with the Internet-mediated sexual experiences of MSM, it can be argued that the scale includes quite different aspects of that experience. For instance, the emotional dimensions of sexual self-exposure online might be considered qualitatively distinct from the perception that using the Internet to meet other men has impacted on aspects of the self. However, we argue that the various aspects that the SUIS covers actually complement each other and also that its diversity is, in fact, one of the scale s strengths, as it allows for an ample understanding of the complex social, emotional and behavioural phenomenon of meeting sexual partners online, which has been missing in instruments developed to date. The items of the scale were mostly based on findings from the qualitative study that preceded it for which 36 MSM were interviewed about their online sexual networking experiences (deleted for anonymity), thus reflecting the diversity of interests and anxieties that men have when seeking potential sexual partners on the Internet. Therefore, the SUIS may be used for exploratory purposes and, if required, its different dimensions may be used as independent sub-scales in the context of specific research interests. Furthermore, the scale may help improve and complement the understanding of important aspects of the sexual and relational practices of MSM in areas that have so far been understudied. Unlike various other scales reviewed (Buhi, Klinkenberger & McFarlane, 2013; Delmonico, 2013; Wolak, Finkelhor & Mitchell, 2004), the SUIS takes the emphasis away from problematic aspects of sexual Internet use and instead focuses on general psychosocial processes that may occur associated with or as a consequence of the online experience. Nevertheless, the scale reflects a wide range of MSM s experiences online, including items about positive, negative and neutral contextual aspects of those experiences. Unlike other available scales that measure different aspects of the online sexual experience, such as the ISST (Delmonico, 2013) or the SIS (Goodson, McCormick & Evans, 2000), and with a few notable exceptions (Grov et al., 2007; Robinson & Moskowitz, 2013; Williams et al., 2010), the SUIS was developed specifically for the MSM population. Considering that this scale reflects a breadth of experiences and concerns that men go through when using the Internet for purposes of sexual pursuit and gratification, it may be used to provide a finer understanding of MSM s erotic patterns on- and offline. The SUIS also taps into notions of perceived self-change and of altered perceptions of others as a consequence of the interactive social and sexual experience online (Couch & Liamputtong, 2008; Davis et al., 2006; Heino, Ellison & Gibbs, 2010; Yurchisin, Watchravesringkan & Brown, 2005), which in turn links with contemporary discussions and concerns regarding identity and change in a networked world (Goren, 2003; Lanier, 2010; Litowitz, 2012; Thompson, 2013; Turkle, 2011). This is particularly relevant for MSM as early up-takers and keen users of new technologies for purposes of social and sexual interactions
124 111 (Fernández-Dávila & Zaragoza, 2013; Hull et al., 2011; Ko et al., 2012; Rosser et al., 2009) at a time when there is suggestion of challenging consequences of these practices from a public health point of view, such as the potential for increased sexual risk taking (McKirnan, Houston & Tolou-Shams, 2007; Parsons et al., 2008). The SUIS may add to the better understanding of these phenomena when used in association with other measures of MSM s sexual practices and experiences. The rapid shift from web-based tools, such as the ones we focused on, to other more current forms of dating and sexual networking attests to an ever-changing social and technological reality that can potentially render obsolete some of the research carried out in the space of only a few years. Therefore, as a limitation it is noteworthy that data collection for this study was carried out at a time when online dating applications for smartphones (Blackwell, Birnholtz, & Abbott, 2014; Grosskopf, LeVasseur & Glaser, 2014; Quiroz, 2013) were still in its infancy and therefore its use was not covered by this research. The famous principle put forward by Marshall McLuhan the medium is the message (McLuhan, 1964) should not be underestimated. It can be interpreted as suggesting that the format of any communication technology is more relevant than its content. In the case of our field of analysis, this could imply that sexual networking on a computer will raise different issues than when doing it on a mobile device. However, research and instruments such as the SUIS may help understand and monitor trends even as they shift and may also increase our understanding of what is to come, especially as web-based dating tools are still in use and as new generations of young people arrive to the digital age of dating and sexual networking. Additionally, the SUIS can be minimally adapted to assess aspects of sexual networking when done through smartphone applications. After all, the Internet is the Internet regardless of what device is used to access it. The low numbers of bisexual men in our sample did not allow the study of the properties of the SUIS for this subset of the MSM population. Therefore, any interpretation of the findings of the SUIS will need to consider these to be applicable to MSM as a whole with the limitations that this implies. Concluding, the SUIS has good psychometric qualities and can be used as an assessment instrument for MSM populations for which the Internet is at the centre of social, dating and sex-seeking activities, as a standardised measure of relevant aspects of those practices. It will contribute to the information about the impact of using online dating and sexual networking tools on the psychosocial dynamics of users. The final formatted version of the SUIS is available from the lead author.
125 112 Table 1 Sensitivity analysis of the scale Mean Skewness (Sk) Std. Error of Skewness Kurtosis (Ku) Std. Error of Kurtosis Minimum Maximum Q42_r Q42_r Q42_r Q42_r Q42_r Q42_r Q42_r Q42_r Q42_r Q42_r Q42_r Q42_r Q42_r Q42_r Q42_r Q42_r Q43_r Q43_r Q43_r Q43_r Q43_r Q43_r Q43_r Q43_r Q43_r Q43_r Q43_r Q43_r Q43_r Q43_r Q43_r Q44_r Q44_r Q44_r Q44_r
126 113 Q44_r Q44_r Q44_r Q44_r Q44_r Q44_r Q44_r Q44_r Q44_r Q44_r Q44_r Q44_r Q44_r Q44_r Q45_r Q45_r Q45_r Q45_r Q45_r Q45_r Q45_r Q45_r Q45_r Q45_r Q45_r Q45_r Q45_r Q45_r Q45_r Q45_r
127 114 Table 2 Factorial structure of the scale, after extraction of the factors by using principle component analysis with Varimax rotation, retaining 6 factors Item code/ Items F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 Communalities Order in final version of scale F1 Positive impact of the Internet Q44_r8/39 I feel better about myself since I started to use the Internet to meet other men Q44_r12/43 I consider myself a happier person since I use the Internet to meet other men Q42_r4/4 I feel more confident in myself since I started to use the Internet to meet other men Q43_r12/28 I believe I m more open now because I use the Internet to meet sexual partners Q44_r4/35 I consider myself to be more accomplished since I use the Internet to meet other men Q43_r11/27 Because of the Internet I have a more fulfilling sex life Q45_r1/50 Using the Internet to meet other men has helped me to better accept my homosexuality or bisexuality Q45_r9/58 The Internet has allowed me to have better sexual experiences with other men Q42_r11/11 The Internet allows for stronger relationships than those established elsewhere F2 Sexual self-exposure online Q45_r16/65 I have no problem in exposing myself online for other men s satisfaction Q45_r13/62 I like exposing my body online Q43_r8/24 I enjoy exhibiting my body online
128 115 Q42_r8/8 I like to think other men masturbate while viewing my pictures online Q44_r10/41 I think it is distasteful that other men might masturbate while looking at my pictures (reversed) Q44_r1/32 I enjoy getting undressed in front of a webcam for other men to watch Q43_r13/29 I love to feel like a sex object online Q44_r14/45 It is uncomfortable for me to be seen like a sex object online (reversed) Q43_r5/21 I like it that other men look at the pictures I have in my online profile F3 Advantages of meeting men online Q42_r15/15 It is convenient to use the Internet to meet other men Q42_r1/1 Using the Internet to meet other men is easy Q42_r2/2 Using the Internet to meet men is perfectly normal Q44_r13/44 The Internet has allowed me to meet men that otherwise I would not have met Q42_r5/5 Because of the Internet I have as much sex as I want to Q43_r15/31 Through the Internet I met men with sexual tastes adjusted to mine Q44_r15/46 Through the Internet it is easier to find men with sexual preferences similar to my own Q43_r6/22 It is hard to find what I m looking for sexually with the men that I meet online (reversed) Q42_r6/6 Online it is easier to say what I m looking for sexually F4 Preference for meeting men online Q44_r11/42 I rather meet men for sex on the Internet than at a bar
129 116 Q44_r5/36 I rather meet men for sex on the Internet than through friends or acquaintances Q44_r2/33 I rather meet men for sex on the Internet than on the street Q44_r18/49 It is safer to meet men online than elsewhere Q44_r7/38 Online it is easier to discuss safe sex with potential sex partners F5 Mistrust of men online Q45_r10/59 I feel insecure when I meet with men I initially contacted online Q45_r6/55 It is risky to meet men initially contacted online Q42_r9/9 You never know the intentions of the men you chat with online Q43_r4/20 I don t trust the men I meet online Q44_r9/40 I rather not reveal personal information to the men I meet online F6 Negative impact of the Internet Q44_r6/37 Using the Internet to meet sexual partners had a negative impact in the way I see myself Q44_r16/47 I m a worst person since using the Internet to meet other men Q43_r14/30 The Internet makes me less satisfied sexually Q44_r3/34 Online I feel as if I m exposed on a butcher s window Q42_r14/14 Because of the Internet I don t know how to meet men for sex elsewhere anymore Eigenvalues % total explained variance -Cronbach
130 117 Table 3 Thematic Analysis of Final Factors Fx Name of factor N of items Description of factor F1 Positive impact of the Internet 9 This factor includes items that describe the perception of meeting men for sex online as having a positive impact on different aspects of the self, including on confidence, happiness and sexual fulfillment F2 Sexual selfexposure online 9 This factor includes items that describe a preference or liking in the act of exposing oneself online sexually or in appreciating that other men take pleasure in viewing their images on the Internet F3 Advantages of meeting men online 9 This factor includes items that describe the perceived ways by which using the Internet to meet other men is advantageous in regards to different aspects of the experience, such as how convenient or practical it is and also how it has positively affected men s sexual lives, for instance concerning numbers of partners and types of activities sought F4 Preference for meeting men online 5 This factor includes items that describe how men prefer to meet others online as opposed to elsewhere, including how that experience is superior to other places in regards to general safety and opportunities to discuss safer sex F5 Mistrust of men online 5 This factor includes items that describe perceptions of negative intentions of others online, translated in mistrust and lack of confidence towards men met online F6 Negative impact of the Internet 5 This factor includes items that describe the perception of meeting men for sex online as having a negative impact on different aspects of the self, including on self-perception and evaluation, as well as on sexuality
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136 Study 3: Meeting sexual partners online: A study of MSM s perceptions of self-change using the Sexual Use of the Internet Scale (SUIS) Nodin, N., Leal, I.P., & Carballo-Diéguez, A. (submitted b). Meeting sexual partners online: A study of MSM s perceptions of self-change using the Sexual Use of the Internet Scale (SUIS)
137 124 Abstract There is evidence that using online dating and sexual networking websites can impact upon the self-perception of users. This study explores the influence of demographics and user characteristics on levels of perceived impact upon the self amongst gay or bisexual men who use such websites. A total of 313 gay or bisexual men participated in an online survey using sub-scales 1 (Positive impact of the Internet) and 6 (Negative impact of the Internet) of the Sexual Use of the Internet Scale (SUIS). ANOVA analysis revealed that men with less experience of meeting others online, younger men, and single men had significantly higher levels of perceived self-change associated with using the Internet to meet sexual partners. The number of online partners, the frequency of using the Internet to meet sexual partners, and sexual orientation did not have a significant impact on self-perception. More differences were found in relation to the negative impact of using the Internet to meet sexual partners, indicating that positive self-perception associated with that practice might be more stable. Our research adds to the literature on the impact that emergent technologically-facilitated practices, particularly online dating and sexual networking, may have on the self-perception of users and suggests a greater negative than positive impact on self-perception for men who use these resources to find same-sex partners. Keywords: Internet; online dating; MSM; sexual networking; self-perception
138 125 Introduction The Internet has helped transform the use of ads for finding partners for relationships and sex from a niche into a mainstream practice (Noonan, 2007; Quiroz, 2013), with many people currently finding their future spouses online (Cacioppo et al., 2013; Lawson & Leck, 2006) and many others actively using it to pursue their erotic interests (Carvalheira & Gomes, 2003; Couch & Liamputtong, 2008). Findings from different parts of the world show that a majority of gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) use online platforms to meet their sexual and romantic partners (Bolding et al., 2005; Hull et al., 2013; Ko et al., 2012). Despite the considerable body of research dedicated to other aspects of Internet-mediated impacts on this population, such as sexual risk behaviour (e.g. Adam, Murphy & de Wit, 2011; Berg, 2008; Carballo- Diéguez et al., 2009; Fernández-Dávila & Zaragoza Lorca, 2011) and sexual compulsivity (e.g. Coleman et al., 2010; Grov, Parsons & Bimbi, 2010; Parsons et al., 2008), the effects of online dating and sexual networking on other psychosocial dimensions of users remains largely understudied. Only limited attention, for example, has been dedicated to understanding the effects of online dating and sexual networking on self-perception and identity. Considering how central the self and identity are in the ways in which people experience the world (Dainton, 2014), and how communication technologies potentially shape that experience (McLuhan, 1964; Postman, 1992; Virilio, 1997), there is a need to understand further the finer aspects of this impact. In order to help address this gap in information we conducted a study among MSM who use the Internet to meet sexual partners, using two sub-scales of the Sexual Use of the Internet Scale (SUIS) that specifically measure perceived self-change associated with using the Internet to elucidate those factors associated with altered self-perception in this context. Literature review Internet-related identity change has drawn attention from academics since the early stages of online networking (Rheingold, 2000; Tomas, 1991). Seminal work by Turkle (1995) discussed how people used online gaming platforms to experiment with their identities in a safe way, but also how the boundaries between the virtual and the real had started to blur for many users. In turn Mitchell (2003) suggested that the extensive use of communication technologies such as mobile phones and the Internet causes shifts in subjectivity. More recently, Rodogno asserted that autobiographical narratives such as the ones currently found on social media may affect the identity through processes of self-reinterpretation (Rodogno, 2012). The ubiquitous and extensive use of dating and sexual networking websites has also triggered discussions around how their use might affect individuals. Studies have found that
139 126 individuals can re-create their identities and improve their sense of desirability through their Internet dating profiles and through the feedback they receive from others in that context (Heino, Ellison & Gibbs, 2010; Yurchisin, Watchravesringkan & Brown, 2005). Research has also described how people who use these platforms often develop a dating shopping mentality, whereby potential partners are perceived as commodities, hence highlighting the alienating effects that these websites may have on users perceptions of others (Best & Delmege, 2012; Heino, Ellison & Gibbs, 2010). Conversely, research on websites used by MSM to meet partners for sex without condoms examined how men go through a self-reflexive process about their identity and behaviour while deciding how to present themselves in relation to the options offered by the website (Dowsett et al., 2008). In a qualitative study about perceived change in the self and in perceptions of others associated with meeting sexual partners online, MSM reported that this experience allowed for important insights and led them into paths of self-discovery and personal improvement that might otherwise have remained unexplored (Nodin, Carballo- Diéguez & Leal, 2013). For some of the participants in this study the Internet facilitated the exploration of experimental personal and sexual potential, and informed an altered view of other men and of people in general. For instance, some reported increased levels of suspiciousness towards others due to unmet expectations and deceit found online. The study concluded that the online sexual networking environment and the experiences it allowed seemed to facilitate fundamental, even if subjectively perceived, changes for participants. The current study The current study aims at increasing the body of information about self-perceived Internet-facilitated change. We were particularly interested in ascertaining whether specific aspects of the online sexual networking experience and site-user characteristics affect the perceived impact on the self, as measured by the SUIS. Our research question was: Which demographic and user characteristics are linked with higher levels of perceived impact upon the self among users of sexual networking websites? Our hypotheses were: H1: There are differences in the levels of perceived self-change associated with using the Internet to meet sexual partners among users with different lengths of experience of using the Internet to meet sexual partners H2 a and H2 b : There are differences in the levels of perceived self-change associated with using the Internet to meet sexual partners among users who have met different numbers of sexual partners online over (a) the previous year and (b) the previous three months
140 127 H3: There are differences in the levels of perceived self-change associated with using the Internet to meet sexual partners among users with different frequencies of accessing the Internet for this purpose H4: There are differences in the levels of perceived self-change associated with using the Internet to meet sexual partners among users of different age groups H5: There are differences in the levels of perceived self-change associated with using the Internet to meet sexual partners among users of different relationship status H6: There are differences in the levels of perceived self-change associated with using the Internet to meet sexual partners among users of different sexual orientations Materials and Methods This study was approved by the Scientific Committee of the ISPA- Instituto Universitário de Ciências Psicológicas, Sociais e da Vida, Lisbon, Portugal. Data for this study were collected online. Recruitment and study participants Recruitment was conducted via ing, word of mouth and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community based organizations networks, by providing information about the research and sharing the link to the study s online survey. After removing incomplete surveys and those who did not meet inclusion criteria for this study, the final sample used for this study included 313 participants. Inclusion criteria were: 18 years of age or older, self-identified gay or bisexual men, and experience of having met at least one male sexual partner online during the year prior to participation. Measures User demographics and characteristics A questionnaire that included items about various demographic and user characteristics was used for description of the sample and to identify the independent variables to be used in the analyses. These items were (categories used for analysis in parenthesis): Age: From the open ended numeric question How old are you today?, transformed into a categorical variable with four age groups (ages 18-25, ages 26-35, ages 36-45, ages 46 years) Relationship status: From the question Are you currently in a relationship?, with yes/no reply option (in a relationship; not in a relationship) Sexual orientation: From the question Do you consider yourself to be: with reply options heterosexual ; homosexual/gay ; bisexual ; other. For this study identification as
141 128 homosexual/gay and bisexual were used as inclusion criteria, therefore only those two categories were used for analyses (homosexual/gay, bisexual) Time in years since starting to use the Internet to meet sexual partners: From the question How long has it been since you started to use the Internet to meet men? with the option to reply in number of months and of years, grouped into three time-in-years categories ( 5, 6-8, 9) Number of sexual partners met online over the last year: From the open-ended numeric question How many of the men you had sex with over the last year did you meet online? grouped into three categories (1, 2-4, 5) Number of sexual partners met online over the last three months: From the openended numeric question How many of the men you had sex with over the last three months did you meet online? grouped into three categories (0, 1, 2) Frequency of Internet use to meet sexual partners: From the question How frequently do you use those [sexual networking] sites? with six answers ranging from never to everyday, grouped into two categories (frequent use [daily and more than once weekly use] and infrequent use [once-a-week or less frequently]) Sexual Use of the Internet Scale The SUIS was developed as a 5-point Likert scale (1 Completely disagree to 5 Completely agree) based on a qualitative study of the perceived impact upon self of using the Internet to meet sexual partners among MSM (deleted for anonymity), and evaluated using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to explore its matrix of correlations with extraction of factors using a principal component analysis (PCA), followed by a Varimax rotation. This generated six sub-scales comprising 42 items: 1 Positive impact of the Internet (nine items); 2 Sexual self-exposure online (nine items); 3 Advantages of meeting men online (nine items); 4 Preference for meeting men online (five items); 5 Mistrust of men online (five items); 6 Negative impact of the Internet (five items). The sub-scales of particular interest to this study are numbers 1 and 6, as they directly address our research questions, and we report the results of these. SUIS sub-scale 1 (SUIS_ss1) had a Cronbach alpha of 0.89 and explained 19% of the total variance of the scale. It describes the perception of meeting men for sex online as having a positive impact on different aspects of the self, including on confidence, happiness, and sexual fulfilment. SUIS sub-scale 6 (SUIS_ss6) explained 4% of the total variance of the scale. It describes the perception of meeting men for sex online as having a negative impact on different aspects of the self, including on self-perception and evaluation, as well as on sexuality. The higher the total scores for either of the sub-scales, the higher the perception of self-change associated with using the Internet to meet sexual partners.
142 129 Analyses We ran one-way between-group analysis of variance (ANOVA) for all independent variables in their relation to the results of SUIS_ss1 and SUIS_ss6. Total average scores of the two sub-scales were used for this purpose. All tests were conducted at the p<.05 significance level. The study hypotheses were accepted if the analyses carried out with at least one of the sub-scales per hypothesis showed significant results. Only significant results are reported. Analyses were performed using SPSS version 20 software (IBM Chicago, IL). Results The average age of the participants was 30.8 years (SD=9.4, range years). Seventy-eight per cent of participants identified as gay; however, when asked about their sexual attraction on an adapted Kinsey scale (Kinsey, 1948), only 55.5% of the total sample reported being exclusively attracted to other men. About half of the participants were in a relationship (49.5%), the majority of which were with another man (83.4%). The impact of time of using the Internet to meet sexual partners on SUIS_ss6 was statistically significant [F(2, 310) = 9.642, p =.001]. The effect size, calculated using eta squared, was.06, which is considered moderate (Cohen, 1988). Post-hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test indicated that the mean score for the group with 5 years of using sexual networking sites (n=139, M=11.59, SD=3.29) was significantly different from the group with 9 years of experience (n=85, M=9.66, SD=3.29). This suggests that the men who used the Internet to meet sexual partners for a shorter time had a higher perception of a negative impact of that use than men who had used it for a longer time. The impact of age was statistically significant on both SUIS_ss1 and SUIS_ss6 [F(3, 309) = 2.96, p=.03 and F(3, 186) = 5.5, p=.001, respectively; reporting adjusted Brown- Forsythe test results for the SUIS_ss6 due to violation of equality of variance as assessed by Levene s test]. The effect size, calculated using eta squared, was.03 for SUIS_ss1, therefore relatively modest, but higher for SUIS_ss6 at.05, hence moderate (Cohen, 1988). Post-hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test in the case of the results of SUIS_ss1 indicated that the mean score for the 46 age group (n=29, M=22.76, SD=8.68) was significantly different from both the age group (n=104, M=26.45, SD=6.16) and the years age group (n=58, M=25.8, SD=6.68). In regard to the results from SUIS_ss6, both Hochberg s GT2 and Games-Howell procedures were used for post-hoc comparisons due to differences in sample sizes and non-homogeneity of variances (Field, 2013). Both tests indicated that the age group (M=11.76, SD=3.66) was significantly different from both the (M=9.98, SD=2.52) and the 46 age groups (M=9.86, SD=3.29). Taken together, these results seem to indicate that, in general, the younger age groups tended to have a higher perception of both
143 130 negative and positive impact of using the Internet to meet sexual partners when compared with the older age groups. The impact of relationship status on SUIS_ss6 was also statistically significant [F(1, 311) = 12.07, p =.001]. The effect size, calculated using eta squared, was.04, which is considered moderate (Cohen, 1988). Post-hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test indicated that the mean score for the group of individuals not in a relationship at the time of participation in the survey (n=158, M= 11.46; SD= 3.27) was significantly different from the group of participants in a relationship (n=155, M= 10.19, SD= 3.19). This suggests that the men who were single had a higher perception of a negative impact of using the Internet to meet sexual partners than men who were in a relationship. No other results were statistically significant. Discussion The analyses carried out to answer our research question allowed us to accept our hypotheses H1, H4 and H5, and to reject H2a, H2b, H3 and H6, as significant differences in levels of perceived self-change among men using the Internet to meet male sexual partners were associated with the time since the onset of that use, age, and relationship status. Our results suggest that men who use the Internet to meet sexual partners for a shorter time have a higher perception of a negative impact of that use than men who have used it for a longer time. It may be that men newly or recently using online sexual networking environments have expectations that are unmet, leading them to evaluate the impact of the interactions facilitated through that context less favourably than men who have been using the Internet for that purpose for a longer time. For the latter, given their longer online experience, any perceived impact might already have been incorporated into their general sense of self, thus leaving them less attuned to the possible negative influences of the Internet on their general self-evaluation or their sexual satisfaction. In research about the extent to which one s identity remains constant from one context to the next, Rodogno (2012) suggested that contemporary accounts of the self encompass its offline as well as its online dimensions, therefore unifying both in a single narrative. It is conceivable that the length of time experiencing online interactions with other men might have a levelling effect on that process, which could explain our findings. Interestingly, age was the only variable for which perceptions of both positive and negative impact upon the self were found. We found that younger men tended to have a higher perception of both negative and positive impact of using the Internet to meet sexual partners when compared with older men. This may be due both to younger men being more sensitive to the possible effects of meeting others online for sex, and to the greater stability of the general sense of the self in older men leading to the reverse effect. It has been shown
144 131 that as people get older, so their sense of self becomes more stable and less permeable to the influence of experience (Finn, 1986). Our results indicate that this might also be true in regard to the perceived effects of meeting sexual partners online. Therefore the shifts in subjectivity associated with the use of the Internet that Rheingold (2000) and Mitchell (2003) discuss, or the impact of online dating analysed by Heino et al. (2010) and by Yurchisin et al. (2005), may be moderated by age, at least within the specific niche of the MSM we analyse here. Differences were also found in regard to relationship status. Single men were shown to have a higher perception of the negative impact of using the Internet to meet sexual partners when compared with men who were in a relationship. This may be because single men are more likely to be active users of the Internet for that purpose, thus having a more current experience and being more sensitive to its less desirable aspects, and thus to its negative impact upon themselves. Men in relationships will either not use the Internet at all to seek sexual partners or use it less frequently than their single counterparts, therefore becoming less exposed to that reality and developing a reduced perception of its impact on their sense of self. As these men are in a relationship, they may also be less invested in finding partners online or may evaluate their experiences of men they meet or attempt to meet via the Internet less severely. However, we did not analyse the intensity of online sexual networking according to relationship status and therefore this matter is still open for further exploration. We found no significant interaction between perceptions of self-change and the number of partners met online in the previous year or the previous three months, the frequency of Internet use to meet sexual partners, or sexual orientation. This is somewhat counter-intuitive in the case of those relating to the intensity of the online experience of MSM. It would be expected to a certain extent that having met many sexual partners online, and doing so often, would have an effect on perceived self change, i.e., that the quantity of that experience would translate more strongly into an altered sense of self. However, that was not the case in our study. As discussed above, this may be because factors such as the time since starting to meet partners online may eventually normalize the experience, thus rendering other aspects of the practice less preeminent in regard to their impact on perceived self-change. For instance, if the men have a steady experience of meeting a certain number of sexual partners online across the several years that they have been using the Internet for this purpose, their perception of associated self-change might be less affected by the number of partners met online over the last year or the last three months. This possibility, which we cannot confirm from our data, opens up interesting future directions for research in this field. Of note, the majority of significant results were found in relation to the perception of a negative impact of using the Internet to meet sexual partners, as measured by the SUIS_ss6.
145 132 This suggests that a positive self-perception associated with online sexual networking may be more stable across the various dimensions of analysis used than a negative self-perception. Many authors have described the perceived dangers of the Internet and its potential detrimental impact upon individuals and society (e.g. Carr, 2011; Lanier, 2010; Turkle, 2011). Indeed, in a qualitative study of MSM which preceded and informed the present study, we found that, together with a positive evaluation of the impact of their online experience, participants also spoke of how they considered themselves to have become more suspicious of other people both on- and offline, while some also described a diminished emotional availability towards others, both as a result of being exposed to deceit on the Internet (deleted for anonymity). These reactions, perceptions of a negative impact of using the Internet as a facilitator for sexual interactions, and the uneasiness that some people admit to having towards using others as commodities on the dating/sexual online marketplace (Heino et al., 2010) link with long-standing concerns of alienation caused by the use of technology. For instance, Heidegger discussed how the technological viewpoint considered nature, including humans, as resources to be exploited, reducing beings to non-beings, therefore ultimately reorganizing our perception of reality (Heidegger, 1977). Similarly, Marcuse expressed concerns regarding how machines have progressively come to mediate relationships between people, with alienating effects, taking over their libido and their freedom (Marcuse & Kellner, 1998). These reactions are ever more present in the contemporary world, where relationships are increasingly negotiated over a myriad of devices and applications. It may be that our results, which show more nuanced perceptions of the negative impact of online sexual networking, reflect a higher awareness of, and concerns surrounding the deleterious consequences of using machines for purposes that are all too human. However, these anxieties do not stop people, particularly specific groups of people like MSM, from embracing new technologies enthusiastically, suggesting that they must be adding something to their lived experience and, hence, also to their sense of self. These dynamic and sometimes contradictory reactions are likely to continue to evolve and shift as newer social and sexual networking technologies are created and used. This study has some limitations that we would like to point out. We used a nonrepresentative sample of MSM and therefore our findings cannot be generalized to all MSM. It is also likely that men with a particular interest in the topic of the research participated in the study, thus under-representing those who may have alternative perspectives and experiences of meeting others online. The topic under analysis may potentially be influenced by the social and cultural context of its participants, and therefore it may be that our results do not equate to those found in other countries or in different social and cultural realities.
146 133 We are also aware that the category of MSM is a crude one that does not take into account the diversity found in the population of men who have other men as their objects of attraction and sexual partners. For example, for the bisexually-identified men we were unable to assess the potential of an altered self perception deriving from their online experiences (if any) with women. However, considering that men who are generally included in the MSM umbrella are reported to use the Internet extensively to meet sexual partners (Bolding et al., 2005; Hull et al., 2013; Ko et al., 2012), possibly to a further extent than non-msm men, we believe that the study of MSM s patterns can better help us understand the psychosocial dynamics of the mating process in a networked world as they evolve and increasingly become normative processes for younger generations coming of age online. Cyberspace has become a relevant dimension where many people socialize, find recognition, seek affection and sex, fall in and out of love, start and end relationships. Although there has been considerable interest from public health sectors and consequently from academia about MSM s problematic uses of the Internet for purposes related with their sexuality, less research has focused on other aspects of this experience. Our study hopefully contributes to a more diverse and nuanced view of an important aspect of MSM s contemporary mating practices.
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152 139 Discussion and conclusions
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154 141 The Internet has become a pervasive presence in the contemporary world, opening up possibilities old and new. In the process it is also becoming embedded with meanings that appeal to ancient and renewed concerns and passions. The popularity of cyberspace as a whole, as well as the traction of some of the tools that it offers, such as those of social, sexual and romantic networking, are suggestive of a deep connection of the medium with the interests, needs and desires of many people around the globe. This research focuses on a specific aspect of this experience: To understand if and how using sexual networking and dating websites affects the behaviour and perceptions of the MSM who use them. It was inspired by and based on research that investigated the use of Internet sites by New York City MSM looking for partners for bareback sex (Carballo-Diéguez et al., 2006; Carballo- Diéguez et al., 2009), and therefore initially focussed on studying risk practices associated with meeting sexual partners online among a sample of Portuguese MSM. However, the initial exploratory study suggested that such practices were infrequent amongst the Portuguese men who took part (Nodin, Leal & Carballo-Diéguez, in press). This led to a repositioning of the research, to a slightly wider conceptual field than originally planned, which is that of the perceived self-change of MSM who use the Internet to meet sexual partners. The research was then organised into three further studies, one qualitative (Nodin, Carballo-Diéguez & Leal, 2013) and two quantitative (Nodin, Leal & Carballo-Diéguez, submitted a; Nodin, Leal & Carballo-Diéguez, submitted b) that along with the exploratory study form the core of this dissertation. A number of additional studies were also conducted (Appendices 6-10) to explore theories and concepts (Nodin, 2007, 2009), methodologies and results from other samples (Nodin, Valera, Ventuneac, et al., 2008) and parallel areas of interest to the main research (Nodin, Carballo-Dieguez & Leal, 2009; Nodin, Leal & Carballo- Diéguez, 2008). The purpose of Study 1 of this dissertation (Nodin, Carballo-Diéguez & Leal, 2013) was to explore if men perceived self-changes associated with their online sexual experience (OSE) and, if so, what these were. Its research questions were: Has OSE affected MSM s
155 142 perception of themselves and of others? Is it possible that some of these perceptions actually equate to real changes, the coming into being of new realities and behaviours? The results strongly suggested that OSE does indeed impact on these men s perceptions of themselves and of others. The participants online experiences were varied and seem to have led some of the men into important paths of self-discovery and personal improvement that they did not think were possible; for others the Internet facilitated the exploration of unknown personal and sexual potential. OSE also seems to have informed a varied view of other men and of people in general, as well as of sex. And for a few participants, their online sexual digressions had no perceived impact at all. Overall, men in the study tended to positively evaluate their altered self-perception. For instance, OSE may have enhanced men s interpersonal skills, allowing them to have better and more authentic communication with others on- and offline. However, this positive aspect of self-change contrasted with the perception that men developed of others following their OSE. Many described losing trust in people due to the dissimulation that they claimed reigns online. Furthermore, this increased suspiciousness seemed to have contaminated offline interactions as well affecting expectations of others more generally. These findings then informed the development of an instrument to investigate men s perceptions and preferences of using the Internet to meet sexual partners, the SUIS, which was developed to allow the standardised assessment of those experiences (Nodin, Leal & Carballo-Diéguez, submitted a). Study 2 reported the development and assessment of the psychometric properties of the SUIS. The SUIS is particularly important as it addresses a gap in the field. The number of existing instruments for evaluating the relationship between sexuality and the Internet is very limited; most of those developed have not been standardised and the majority focus on problematic aspects of the relationship. Furthermore, the SUIS is specific to MSM s experiences of using the Internet, having been developed from the experiences and concerns of men themselves. Study 2 was also relevant in the context of the larger research project, as using a systematic approach allowed the identification of factors or dimensions which reframed and shed more light on the issues and themes identified during the qualitative phase (Nodin, Carballo-Diéguez & Leal, 2013). The factor analysis of the scale produced dimensions of men s online experiences that were not identified by the previous study. For example, Sexual self-exposure online, which refers to a preference for or liking of the act of exposing oneself online sexually or of appreciating that other men take pleasure in viewing their images on the Internet. However, the factor analysis also confirmed the coherence of the core dimensions of the research, namely those pertaining to the perception of positive and negative impacts of
156 143 the Internet on the self. This allowed for a more in-depth exploration of this experience, in Study 3. The goal of Study 3 (Nodin, Leal & Carballo-Diéguez, submitted b) was to ascertain whether specific aspects of the online sexual networking experience and site-user characteristics affected perceived impact upon the self, as measured by the standardised SUIS. More specifically, it explored whether, for individuals who use the Internet to meet sexual partners, the perceived self-change associated with that use (as measured by subscales 1 Positive impact of using the Internet, and 2 Negative impact of using the Internet of the SUIS) differed depending on the length of time experiencing that practice, on number of sexual partners met online, on frequency of online sexual networking, on age, on relationship status and on sexual orientation. From the ANOVA analyses out of the results, it appeared that men with less time of experience of meeting others online, younger men and single men had significantly higher levels of perceived self-change associated with using the Internet to meet sexual partners than more experienced, older and partnered men. The number of online partners, frequency of using the Internet to meet sexual partners and sexual orientation had no apparent impact on self-perception as measured by the SUIS. The lack of influence of these variables on selfperception was somewhat counter-intuitive, particularly in the case of those relating to the intensity of the MSM s online experience. It would be expected that, to a certain extent, having met many sexual partners online, and doing so often, would have an effect on perceived self-change, i.e., that the quantity of that experience would translate more strongly into an altered sense of self. We suggest that the lack of findings for these variables might have been due to a normalisation of the experience of meeting partners online, thus rendering certain aspects of the practice less pre-eminent in regard to their impact on perceived self-change. The findings from this study provided more results related to a negative impact of online sexual networking than to a positive impact, possibly reflecting a higher awareness of and concerns surrounding the deleterious consequences of using the Internet to meet sexual partners among participants. However, that does not seem to stop MSM from embracing communications technologies enthusiastically, suggesting that these must be adding something to their lived experience and, hence, also to their sense of selfhood. It should be underlined that all of the research, encompassing all four studies presented here, focused on perceived self-changes and not palpable or objectively measurable behavioural changes, as these would be harder to assess using the methods employed. However, considering the definition of the self as a compelling sense of one s unique existence (Reber, 1995, p.699) the perceptions that men in the studies had of change associated with their Internet-mediated sexual experiences may be integrated into
157 144 their ongoing sense of self, thus redefining their self-concept. This might happen via a number of processes. For instance, the men might develop a positive sexual identity by engaging with other MSM online, and therefore demarginalising their sexual self and merging it with their offline ones (McKenna & Bargh, 1998; McKenna et al., 2001). Indeed some of the results from Study 1 are suggestive of this; for instance, when men describe having become more accepting of their sexual orientation after starting to use the Internet to meet sexual partners. They might also experience more steady and longer lasting changes to the self as a consequence of practices of creating, updating and using their profiles on dating and sexual networking websites and of actively filtering through potential partners in that context (Couch & Liamputtong, 2008; Davis et al., 2006), in what has been described as a kind of information-technology bricolage or DIY [do it yourself] practice (Davis et al., 2006, p.462). There is also some evidence of the process of filtering from the qualitative phase sample, particularly in the Exploratory Study conducted about sexual risk definitions and concepts (Nodin, Leal & Carballo-Diéguez, in press). In this study, MSM described assessing the perceived risk level of the men they found online based on the descriptive information they read in their profiles on sexual networking websites, which then informed their decision about whether to meet them in person or not. There have been several conceptual and empirical attempts at justifying the incorporation of online identities under a single unified identity (e.g. Hardey, 2004; Rodogno, 2012) which are often subsidiaries of narrative approaches to the construction of identity, such as that of Giddens (1991) who posited that in late-modernity the self is developed in an ongoing reflexive process fed by engagement in relationships and activities that reinforce it. The Internet and online networking platforms would form a natural part of this process, and researchers have discussed this in relation with MSM (Davis et al., 2006; Dowsett et al., 2008). Another major theoretical framework that has been used for the understanding of identity changes online is that of Symbolic Interactionism (Blumer, 1969; Mead & Morris, 1934), particularly through the lens of Goffman s theory of self-presentation (Goffman, 1959), according to which people will manage their presentation to others in the context of the audiences they face, in a permanent assessment and adaptation process to maximise their gains, whatever those might be. The Internet, and social media and dating websites in particular, are fascinating arenas in which this process also unfolds, some claim with an effect on the individual s sense of self that goes beyond what happens online but crosses into offline personas too (Couch & Liamputtong, 2008; Davis et al., 2006; Gonzales & Hancock, 2008; Walther, 1996). The acknowledgement of this change was identified in the men in Study 1, for instance when they describe acquiring new and more effective communication strategies with the others they interact with online but also, and as a
158 145 consequence, offline. Thus, there seems to be some evidence of a face-to-face contamination of processes and patterns learnt during the exploration of oneself and of others while seeking partners online. Despite focusing on a very specific aspect of the impact of a technology on a subset of the total population, i.e., that of early 21 st century Portuguese MSM who use the Internet to meet sexual partners, our research engages with ancient discussions regarding the influence of new technologies on individuals and society, which is probably as old as humankind itself, but that can be traced at least as far back as Ancient Greece. Plato believed that one of the most basic human technologies, writing itself, affected the process of remembering, which until the invention of the written word was the available resource for those who, like him, dealt with conveying and spreading ideas (Plato & Jowett, 1990). Ironically, were it not for writing, we would never have known of Plato s conservative views about writing. However, having access to them, we can place him in a tradition of thinkers who have debated the possible impact of technologies on humankind, including Francis Bacon [ ], Karl Marx [ ], Friedrich Nietzsche [ ], Sigmund Freud [ ], Martin Heidegger [ ], Herbert Marcuse [ ], Marshall McLuhan [ ], Jean Baudrillard [ ], Donna Haraway [1944 ], to mention but a few of those reviewed for our research. Much of this debate has been split between those who believe that technology has a positive impact on people and society (e.g. Bacon; Haraway) and those who believe such an impact to be negative (e.g. Freud, Marcuse, Baudrillard) with some maintaining a moderately neutral perspective (e.g. Nietzsche, McLuhan). However, it should be noted that, on balance, there seems to be a predominance of support of an apprehensive view of the impact of technology. This attitude is historical but also contemporary (e.g. Lanier, 2010; Turkle, 2011; Virilio, 1986, 1995, 1997) in spite of the modern fascination and overwhelming uptake of gadgets and communication technologies and platforms. This ambivalence located at the core of reflections about technology can be found across the results of all of our studies about MSM s perceived impact of using online sexual networking websites on the self. Therefore, the findings of Study 1 show that the perceived impact of that practice was considered to be mostly positive, with men discussing the ways in which using those sites allowed them to be more sexually liberated and to establish channels of communication and exploration with others, even if at the same time they also perceived that experience to have changed them in undesirable ways, such as sometimes developing patterns of excessive use of those sites or gaining a sense of loss of innocence about other people, which conversely led to a suspicious outlook of people even in offline interactions. In Study 2, two of the subscales of the SUIS that the factor analysis produced were clearly defined by content that could be categorised as the positive impact of the Internet
159 146 (e.g. I consider myself to be more accomplished since I use the Internet to meet other men ; Because of the Internet I have a more fulfilling sex life ; Using the Internet to meet other men has helped me to better accept my homosexuality or bisexuality ) or as the negative impact of the Internet (e.g. I m a worse person since using the Internet to meet other men ; The Internet makes me less satisfied sexually ; Because of the Internet I don t know how to meet men for sex elsewhere anymore ). Even in other subscales produced, both tendencies could be found, for instance in the clear Internet enthusiasm that straddles the subscale Advantages of meeting men online (e.g. Using the Internet to meet men is perfectly normal ; Because of the Internet I have as much sex as I want to ) or the more technophobic tone of the subscale Mistrust of men online (e.g. It is risky to meet men initially contacted online ; I don t trust the men I meet online ). Study 3, which used the two main attitudinal scales of the SUIS (Positive impact of the Internet and Negative impact of the Internet) to investigate which aspects of the online sexual networking experience and site-user characteristics affected perceived impact upon the self, found more nuanced results pertaining to the negative impact than to the positive, which is suggestive of higher awareness and concerns surrounding the undesirable consequences of using the Internet to meet sexual partners. Finally, the parallel study about the concept of cybersex also identified in the participants a recognition of the advantages of using computers and the Internet to interact sexually with other men online and an active engagement in that practice, even while sometimes revealing a sense of frustration, considering the experience to be unsatisfying and inauthentic (Nodin, Leal & Carballo-Diéguez, 2008). Overall, the men that took part in these studies can be considered to be cyberpessimists as much as they can be called cyberoptimists, using the words coined by Pollet, Roberts and Dunbar (2011), without a clear tendency towards one side of the debate or the other. Therefore, if this research contributes to the ongoing discussion about the dichotomised effects of specific technologies on humans, it affirms that those effects are potentially multiple, complex and derived from the reality of the technology used as much as they are bound to the circumstances and expectations of the individuals who use them. Any technology (or online dating and sexual networking websites, for that matter) is not inherently good or bad, nor is what people derive from using them absolutely positive or negative. The possible effects and consequences of their use are, if anything, unpredictable. In light of this discussion it is also of interest to recall the findings from Study 1, in which a minority of the men claimed not to perceive any change associated with using the Internet to network with other men for sexual purposes. More clearly, in the Exploratory Study about sexual risk behaviour associated with using the Internet to meet sexual partners, none of the men thought there was a link between e-dating and their sexual risk
160 147 behaviour with men met online (Nodin, Leal & Carballo-Diéguez, in press), contrary to some reports in the international literature which have linked both practices (Adam et al., 2011; Fernández-Dávila & Zaragoza Lorca, 2011; Liau et al., 2006; McKirnan et al., 2007). These non-results, while going against our core thesis, actually provide a finer perspective of the ways in which our participants perceived the effects of online dating upon themselves. There are different reasons why some individuals don t seem to be affected by the influence of a technology they use. Some may not perceive an influence even if it occurred, and the technology has even so become an element of change. This possibility resonates with the ideas of Marcuse (Marcuse & Kellner, 1998) and Postman (1992) for whom modern societies have become technocracies in which technological progress has become so embedded that there is no possibility of escape or of critical thinking, therefore compromising individuality and free will. If this is the case, then these ideas raise questions about the impact of technology for those who did identify changes as well as for those who did not, and suggest that even for the former there may be an underestimation of the real impact of their use of online sexual networking websites on their selves. According to this viewpoint, the individuals ability to elaborate and enunciate regarding the real extent of that impact is restricted by their (in)capacity to acknowledge it. Another explanation for the lack of perceived impact of e-dating on some of the participants in the research is that individuals were aware of changes but actively resisted them. This might happen, for instance, due to underlying technoscepticism, an attitude that is embedded in our society and culture, often finding its way into science fiction, where dystopian fantasies tell tales of humankind being subdued by evil machines. Some of the men participating in the research may have felt uncomfortable with the idea of computers and the Internet being agents affecting their will and therefore denied it when asked, even when they actively continue to use those resources for the fulfilment of their sexual desires. Or, ultimately, for those few who did not perceive an influence of the Internet on themselves, there may in fact have been no impact at all. All of these hypotheses raise interesting points that are hard if not impossible to prove beyond speculation, but thus are worthy of further research, which might contribute to our understanding of the phenomenon of Internet-mediated impact on the self and on identity. How much of this discussion is specific to gay men and to other men who have sex with men? This question can be placed in the context of the role of MSM in the setting of a networked society (Castells, 1996), which comes with the unavoidable oversimplification of discussing a population group that is diffuse and non-uniform even when strictly using the gay identity label. MSM have been early and enthusiastic adopters of the Internet as an environment in which to socialise and seek others with whom to interact sexually, suggesting that the medium has a specific appeal to them. As happened with individuals belonging to
161 148 other sexual minorities (Rosenmann & Safir, 2006; McKenna & Bargh, 1998), MSM also find in the Internet a space to explore their sexuality in safer ways, unrestricted by the limitations they often still face in society at large, facilitating the encounter with others who share similar niche interests. This was indeed the case for some of the participants of Study 1, for whom using online sexual networking websites had not only been key to coming to terms with their sexuality but also to exploring specific sexual fantasies and interests (e.g. bondage or fisting). These sites and the erotic possibilities they open up seem to be creating new technosexual landscapes for those who decide to explore them. In doing so, these men were also recreating their identities in unforeseen ways. Some authors have pointed out that sex is a highly technological aspect of the human condition (e.g. Bell, 2006; Goren, 2003), with all sorts of apparatus associated with it, from a vast range of contraceptives, to a panoply of devices used to intensify pleasure, to very specific interventions which can be used to target sexual dysfunction and improve fulfilment (e.g. Psychoanalysis, Sex Therapy). According to Bell (2006), sex has been codified into repertoires of acts, positions, techniques and performances as particular configurations of bodies, body-parts and other props and stages (p.393). The same is equally or even more true for gay sex (Davis et al., 2006) which has been surveyed and scrutinised due to public health concerns surrounding HIV (McNamara, 2013), medicalised by bio-chemical products to treat and prevent HIV (e.g. Nodin, Carballo-Dieguez, Ventuneac, Balan & Remien, 2008), subject to the pressures of aesthetics and the pursuit of the perfect body, in turn mediated by gym machines, exercise programmes, diets and other drugs (Christophersen, Murphy & Sullivan, 2010; Wiseman & Moradi, 2010), and which is now heavily negotiated and facilitated by communication technology in its various guises. This mediation forces those who use these technologies to conform to preestablished specifications and thereby to commodify themselves onto an online persona that reflects who they are but that cannot really encompass who they are. Simultaneously, this experience exposes them to others who, like them, present themselves as appealing products for consumption. This process is unlikely to be without consequences to users of these dating tools and may well be one of the key elements of change affecting the patterns of dating and identity production in the contemporary world (Barraket & Henry-Waring, 2008; Davis et al., 2006). Giddens (1992) described, the advent of the pure relationship as a key element of the narrative construction of the self as a project, one that is not confined by the restraints of family or tradition but dictated by self-realisation and fulfilment. Could it be that we are now seeing a further shift of mating patterns into one defined by a sort of relationshopping (Heino et al., 2010) in which there is a constant pursuit of a new and ideal relationship that is
162 149 never attained and which therefore remains perpetually sought in the always-available and vast market of online dating? These new psychosocial and behavioural realities are also relevant from a clinical perspective. Whereas some areas of theory and practice, such as Psychoanalysis, have been resisting a fuller reflection and incorporation of the impact of the Internet upon individuals (Litowitz, 2012) with some notable exceptions (Turkle, 2004; Zizek, 1996, 2004), cyberspace has crept into the daily lives of many people and has become a relevant dimension in which they socialise, find recognition, seek affection and sex, fall in and out of love, and start and end relationships. Defined and marked as these are by the virtual context in which they occur, these relationships are nonetheless very real for those who experience them. Therefore, clinicians need to be aware of them and be prepared to deal with them in an open way, free from biases of theory or prejudice, and preferably informed by profound reflection and by quality research. Limitations of the research This research has several limitations. The first relates to its very conceptual starting point, based as it was on previous research into the possible relationship between Internet use and sexual risk behaviours (Carballo-Diéguez et al., 2006; Carballo-Diéguez et al., 2009) and at a very early stage exposing an apparent lack of such a relationship on the findings of the Exploratory Study (Nodin, Leal, Carballo-Diéguez, in press), which forced the research to find a new focus. This was found, but only after a long and challenging process marked by digressions discernable in the somewhat diverse scope of our various research outputs. It also marked the equally eclectic conceptual framework we used for our analysis, even if it was always bound by the confines of a coherent research question and a clearly defined field of inquiry. It must be noted, however, that this conceptually inclusive approach to our research is not unusual in social sciences studies of the psychosocial impact of the Internet (Barraket & Henry-Waring, 2008; Davis et al., 2006; Hardey, 2002, 2004; Turkle, 1995, 2004) and marks a certain postmodern inquisitive take on the equally fragmented cyberspace and the experiences it allows. Other limitations of the study are related with the methodology. The influence on the self and on identity of using the Internet may be studied using a number of different methods, as attested by the literature reviewed, and that used here may not have been the most appropriate. Furthermore, the phenomenon being studied itself is potentially elusive and challenging to grasp. There is a possibility that the narratives captured from the men who were interviewed (Study 1) reflect only transient and non-stable processes of self-change associated with their experiences.
163 150 In regard to the instruments used, the interview guide s questions may have conditioned the responses that our participants provided, even if that effect was possibly modulated by the use of a flexible approach to the interview (Exploratory Study, Study 1) and by the development of a range of different scale items that were then focussed by the factor analysis to eliminate those items irrelevant to the men s experiences (Study 2). In addition, the act of inquiry about a possible connection between e-dating and self-perceived impact may have led some of the participants to develop narratives that they did not have previously, thus actively generating them during the research process. This is, however, a known effect in the social sciences and has been extensively discussed and accepted as inherent to the nature of qualitative research (Talmy, 2011), with Holstein and Gubrium (2010) clearly asserting that all interviews are not neutral communicative grounds but actually active, regardless of how neutral the interviewers and how cooperative the respondents (p.150). Due to the geographical limits of the research, there may have been cultural and Portuguese-national specific issues which influenced the results, which means they should not be generalised to MSM in other countries, even if comparison with research conducted in other countries supports the findings (e.g. Brown et al., 2005; Davis et al., 2006). Ultimately, the results are only valid for those men who took part in the study and not for other MSM, as the research might have attracted those interested in the topic under study and who were more sensitive to it. Conclusions and future directions In spite of the limitations of the research, I believe that it contributes to the growing body of knowledge related to the influence of online dating and sexual networking on the sense of the self of MSM, and more broadly to ongoing discussions about the impact of technology on people s psychology and behaviour. It does so by exploring how the men who participated in the studies perceive their practices of using the Internet to meet other men to have affected themselves, with interesting and relevant findings. Indeed, in most cases, the men did perceive such an effect to exist and considered it to be positive in some ways, negative in others, and sometimes neutral or non-existent. Some of the findings seem to reflect centuries-old concerns, as well as enthusiasms, in regard to the consequences of using technological tools. It was also possible to determine some specific groups of men who are more sensitive to both negative and positive impacts of using the Internet. Therefore, as a whole, the research adds to the understanding of challenging technosocial phenomena that are widespread in the contemporary world. Although there has been considerable interest from public health sectors and consequently from academia about MSM s problematic uses of the Internet for purposes
164 151 related to their sexuality, less research has focused on other aspects of this experience. Our studies not only contribute to a more diverse and nuanced view of an important aspect of MSM s contemporary mating practices, but they also produced a standardised scale - the SUIS - developed using a bottom-up approach, which will allow others to pursue similar lines of research and to build up more information about this phenomenon. Although the more general line of research that was explored, that of the impact of Internet use upon people s minds and behaviours, has already generated a considerable body of scholarly output, especially considering the relative novelty of Internet use as a widespread phenomenon, there is still ample space for further inquiry. If online dating has become a popular means for people to meet their partners, the question remains how this practice will reflect or be an agent of changing mating patterns and mores in a dynamic society, but one in which establishing gratifying, loving and sexually fulfilling relationships is still a valuable goal for the majority of people. Interacting with technologies (and with others via technologies) allows people to think about themselves and about others in ways that may lead to changes in perceptions of the self. These, in turn, may translate into more stable elements of identity but might also just turn out to be transient. This, however, is something that neither the research reviewed nor conducted was able to ascertain, which means that longitudinal studies are needed, to follow up the evolution of the effects of technology on users minds and behaviour. New communication technologies seem evolving at increasingly speedier rates. This will require ongoing study of how they will be used by people and of the ways they will change people s perceptions of themselves, of others and of the world around them. It will also be of interest to social sciences in general and of Clinical Psychology in particular to understand how constant access to the Internet, use of social media, smart phone applications and dating resources as normative growing-up processes will affect individuals in newer generations senses of who they are and their sociability patterns on- and offline. If the social, religious and political implications of the Guttenberg press resonated through the centuries after its invention (Eisenstein, 1979), it is very likely that the influence of the Internet will also result in phenomena that are at this point impossible to foresee but that will be relevant for current and future generations alike.
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187 174
188 175 Appendices
189 176
190 177 Appendix 1 Screen shot of recruitment profile and recruitment text Volunteers for a scientific investigation Hi My name is Nuno Nodin, I m a clinical psychologist and university teacher. I m currently developing a scientific investigation about sexuality and the Internet. Its goal is to understand the reasons why men are using the Internet to find relationships or sex and in which ways they are doing it. I m looking for volunteers that are willing to participate on an interview taking place in Lisbon. If you re interested in collaborating with this research please contact me with a message via this website. All data will be kept confidential. Thanks! Nuno Nodin
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