In the previous blog on sexting, we discussed who uses this technology – most popular among people in the 18-29 age bracket, but also being used by people up to the age of 50 – and why it is becoming more popular – it is fast and anonymous. Additionally, sexting is within reach for most people; it is easy to learn, always available and ready at the touch of a finger, any place, and any time. This coupled with a generally more open and relaxed attitude about sex, has created a huge market for sexting.
According to Helen Fisher, an anthropologist who has been studying the role of hormones in human behaviors, people who have high testosterone levels are most likely to find this technology appealing and use it, at times inappropriately, because when the desire strikes, they don’t think but act impulsively. And since, according to Dr. Fisher, high sex drive and ambition go hand in hand, it is understandable why some men whose moral, social and political stature, one would think should provide a deterrent for these actions, are in fact particularly attracted to it. Other scientists, likewise, point out that throughout history successful and ambitious men had huge sexual appetites and expressed them openly. So, this seems to be something to be expected, not surprising.
The physiological explanation on the role of hormones may help understand why some men are more attracted to and may be more likely users of this technology than others. However, it leaves out other elements that play an important role in either mitigating or reinforcing these kinds of behaviors. I am referring to the different emotional, social, cultural and religious influences in a person’s life. The way a child is raised; the modeling from his parents and his community at large; the exposure and influence of religious/moral teachings and, later in his life, the cultural expectations about what constitutes being a man, all mold his views of how to be in intimate relationships and affect his attitudes and behaviors about sex.
How people use sexting can give us a glimpse into their minds so, in the next blogs we will go further into this discussion, and explore some general traits that apply to regular users of sexting.
Please stay with us and contribute to the discussion with your experiences and viewpoints.
My name is Daniela Roher, I am a psychotherapist trained in Europe and the US and have been in practice for over 30 years. I have studied in Italy (University of Torino), England (Universities of Cambridge and Oxford), and the United States (Wayne State University), thereby achieving a deep understanding of the human mind and psychopathology. My training includes classes and workshops at the Tavistock Institute in London, England and the London Family Institute, as well as at UCLA. I received a postdoctoral certificate in adult psychoanalytic psychotherapy from the Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute, and this model continues to deeply influence my approach and work today.