The cost of spending long hours visiting social networks with your cell phone can have an impact on physical and mental health. A recent study indicates that the excessive consumption of these platforms, is synonymous with sexual anguish in both men and women.
Addictive use of social media could be a risk factor for impaired sexual function, according to new research published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.
“There is increasing awareness that the use of social networks can acquire the characteristics of an addiction. When this happens, they can worsen mood,” said study author Rui Miguel Costa from the William James Research Center in Ispa, Portugal.
For their research, Costa and colleagues analyzed the responses of sexually active male and female participants in two separate assessments:
Social networks produce frustration. Photo: Shutterstock.
In the first stage, 946 women and 235 men completed assessments of sexual function and problematic smartphone use.
In the second stage, they looked at the case of 536 women and 194 men who completed assessments of sexual function and problematic use of social networking sites.
The fact that relates them is that all the participants had been sexually active with partners of the opposite sex in the last month.
To measure problematic use of social networking sites, participants answered a series of questions such as “Do you neglect household chores to spend more time on social networking sites?”.
Added to which are “Do other people in your life complain about the amount of time you spend online?” and “Is your work performance or productivity affected by staying on social networking sites?”
Study on sex and use of social networks: results
The researchers found that problematic use of social networking sites was associated with sexual distress and poorer sexual functioning.
The men reported having a decreased erectile function and desiregeneral sexual dissatisfaction and more difficulty having orgasms.
Women, on the other hand, were found to have lower arousal, difficulty lubricating and having orgasms, sexual dissatisfaction, coital pain, and increased sexual distress.
The researchers also found an association of sexual distress and lower sexual functioning with problematic smartphone use.
“It is beneficial to reduce the use of social networks, if it often interferes with daily activities, work, sleep, personal relationships or face-to-face social interactions, in general,” Costa warned.
However, once the researchers controlled for their data on problematic use of social networking sites and lower sexual functioning, the relationship between sexual dysfunction and smartphone use all but disappeared.
This indicates that smartphone use alone may not lead to addiction issues and associated sexual distress.
“So it appears to be addictive use that is primarily associated with decreased sexual function, not addictive smartphone use per se,” Costa said.