Shape And Men’s Fitness Examine Sex In The Digital Age (II)

When Shape and Men's Fitness combined forces to determine if sex has been affected by the digital age, the answer was a clear, resounding, unequivocal, emphatic YES! What the 1,200 male and female survey respondents couldn't agree on, however, were the exact ways in which advancing technology has changed relationships and intimacy. Most importantly: Is technology helping our sex lives, or hurting them?

Opinions were split. Those who believed that technology was destroying intimacy put forth a powerful argument. 35% of women said that being in a state of constant connectivity with the world made the time spent with their partners feel less intimate. And although texting is convenient, most women (65%) would prefer to be asked out in person or with a phone call, and 43% have had to suffer through the awkwardness of a breakup via text message (only 27% of men, in contrast, had been dumped in a text).

Mobile phones can also take a negative toll on relationships in other ways. Though most people said that they would ignore a text message or phone call during sex, 7% admitted that they would disrupt the mood long enough to silence their cell and an entire 6% said they would stop to answer it! Now that's a serious addiction!

On the other hand, for those who believed that the digital age has improved their sex lives, new technology provided novel ways to establish, maintain, and improve intimacy with partners. 58% of guys said that they believe that the constant connection provided by modern technology, and the flirting opportunities provided by things like Facebook, text message, Twitter, and BBM, help them score with women more quickly. Nearly 80% of women agreed that technology is useful for creating intimacy faster, but only 38% claimed they'd actually slept with men sooner.

After the initial hookup, a large majority of women (70%) reported "sexing" their lovers to spice things up in the bedroom, and texting has become so popular that it is now the most common method of communication used within relationships.

The ladies and gentlemen polled also expressed their love for the bedroom-boosting capabilities of Skype and that old classic: Internet porn. About 10% had had Skype sex, and another 20% said they're dying to give it a try. 50% of the women polled by Shape said that they watch porn online and, though most (82%) have no problems with the men in their lives watching porn solo, 18% said they would be furious if they missed the chance to watch a naughty video with their partner.

Online dating websites have, clearly, changed the face of relationships forever. 30% of the readers Shape polled had joined a dating site at some point, but more than half who had met their sweetie online refused to admit it to others.

And of course I can't forget about Facebook! The site that permanently altered friendship has also had an effect on dating. It only takes a month or two for the majority of people to update their relationship status on Facebook when a new man or woman enters their life which means, according to Shape, that "regardless of the tech revolution," "the most important thing remains the same: you've still got faith in love."