Internet sex is depressing, says study

Does trawling for online porn lead to depression, or does depression drive us to the stuff? It's a chicken and egg question, and it seems that both could be true.

Guys who seek out online sex have "alarmingly high" rates of depression, anxiety and stress, according to recent research.

Surveying 1325 American and Australian porn and cybersex users, the study revealed:

• 27% were moderate to severely depressed on the standard depression scales
• 30% had high levels of anxiety and 35 per cent were moderately to severely stressed, which is of course extremely high
• They spend an average of just over 12 hours on the sites each week - mostly chatting, participating in cyber sex with webcams, downloading video and images, or sending erotic emails.
• The more heavily they engaged in online sexual activity, the higher their level of depression and anxiety

Marcus Squirrell, a doctoral student at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, said it was possible that depression levels were high because the men were spending so much time online and not engaging with people socially.

"But there's also a chance that depressed people are spending time on these sites to help lift their mood or reduce stress."