SleepyEgg

If your spouse has been "sexting" or maintaining a relationship with someone else online, is that person just looking for an Internet ego-boost, or on the hunt for a real life affair? The answer appears to be the latter, according to a paper on infidelity and cyberspace published in the journal Sexuality & Culture. Authored by University of Nebraska at Kearny professor Diane Kholos Wysocki and Washburn University associate professor Cheryl Childers, the paper examines the behaviors of those who frequent an online dating site dedicated to extra-marital affairs. The authors find that, although many people do seem to enjoy maintaining online sexual relationships with those who are not their partners, most participants' main goal is indeed to hook up in real life.

The researchers posted a survey at AshleyMadison, a site dedicated to helping individuals hook up outside of their marriages. The goal was to discover what role the Internet plays when it comes to finding sex partners, and how common activities like "sexting" are. (The researchers defined sexting as sending sexually explicit texts or e-mails to another adult in order to increase the likelihood of a sexual relationship, either online or offline. This could include text or photos, or both.)