A prominent news source has an article about a study on casual sex.  According to a study in the International Journal of Sexual Health, it found that casual sex is only rewarding for the first few decades, but after then there could be a quarter lifetime of regret.  An excerpt from the article stated:

“There’s a troubling number of adults who spend their prime sexual years in complete coital abandon, then have nothing to show for it but dozens upon dozens of highly detailed erotic memories,” Sullivan said. “They must be so empty inside, one would think.”

Other common, albeit latent, secondary effects noted in the study include mild disappointment and mid-afternoon crankiness, as well as a lingering need for additional casual sex. Researchers could not conclusively establish a link between anonymous, passionate trysts in nightclub bathrooms and these results, however, as a large portion of the polling group was found to be asymptomatic.

I have to wonder if Second Life SLex could be a major contributor to long term future regret of these sexual trysts among the nerdier set.  After all, some SLex probably exceeds some of these swingers mosts wildest dreams by far.  Take for example the wild levels of unadulterated free spirited debauchery that occurs on the grid would definitely blow the minds out of any uninitiated swinger.  If this example from the article is the subjects idea of wild sex, the Second Life grid would truly make him go sign up for a premium account and probably buy his own island.

 ”When I think back on the countless times I’ve had raw, almost bestial sex, indoors or outdoors, with one, sometimes two Asian women whose parents I’ll never have to meet, I occasionally get a little down,” Pertzborn said. “God, what if I wasted my life having guilt-free, uninhibited, sensually explosive sex with anyone I wanted?”

I am really concerned about the studies conclusion about the long term consequences of raw casual sex (or slex for us SL’ers).  The mild regret and possible little pangs of guilt that might come along.  This could be really devastating to the psyche.  It alone might be a prime reason to avoid all forms of SLex on the net and it explains now why anyone who criticizes SLex as stupid or  just plain dangerous now makes complete sense.  After all, why take the clearly obvious risks of mind blowing uninhibited explosive SLex with the risks found in this study.  Dalien Talbot was right, it probably requires many days of intensive one-on-one discussion.

Lastly, this piece from the article only confirms the dangers of promiscuity….

 ”Tragically, it’s quite possible that many of these singles may never realize how miserable a lifetime of phenomenal, kinky sex can make them,” said Sullivan, adding that recent evidence suggests such a healthy, rational realization could be further hindered by the experience of spontaneous oral sex behind the bushes at poolside cocktail parties.

Perhaps what we need to do as a dedicated group of bloggers is form our own long term group to  study these effects.  To verify if they are true or not.

You can read the entire article here.

-Veyron