Thinking of poking that special friend? You’re not alone.
A new study conducted for the revamped British airing of “Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew” shows that 11% of Britons have engaged in sexual intercourse with someone they met through Facebook.
Researchers at OnePoll.com surveyed 2,000 adults with a variety of questions relating to their online habits and sexual activity. The research was commissioned by UKTV channel Really which will be airing tonight. Some other interesting results from those polled:
- 46% have sent illicit texts to someone other than their partner
- 35% have included nude photos of themselves in the texts
- 30% watch porn online by themselves
- 17% watch porn online with their partner
- 10% have had sex with a coworker (50% of those while at work)
More than half of those surveyed have had a one night stand, with the average having occurred within the last six months. The results also indicated that Brits engage in sexual intercourse an average of twice per week, each romping lasting about 20 minutes.
With the explosion of sites such as Match, OKCupid, eHarmony, and Zoosk, the idea that more and more people are turning to technology to satisfy their primal urges isn’t particularly surprising. It certainly adds a whole new layer to our posting earlier today about Facebook increasing “face-to-face” time. What some readers may not know is that until January 2008, Facebook’s “looking for” field also contained the options “random play” and “whatever I can get”, an explicitly sex-driven focus which Zuckerberg has been eschewing, moreso with his recent portrayal in The Social Network.
But it seems not so long ago that the notion of “meeting someone online” was particularly taboo, eliciting stern warnings of “be careful”, “call me”, “go with a friend” and the like. But as anyone on Facebook can tell you, our personal information is more readily accessible than ever, and with that a verification of identity, which may cause people to have greater assurance in just who it is they’re meeting.
Looking at how courtship and dating have evolved in the last 10 years, the next 10 should prove to be particularly transformative. Will we be sending e-roses while watching Netflix from our respective beds?
What do you think? Have you ever made that special friend request?
Image found via This is London
Slightly unclear. What was considered “illicit” texts? What % of those people were single to begin with? Also, the 35% who include photos… is that of the whole, or just of the segment of people who send illicit texts to begin with(for an actual percentage of 16% of the total).
Comment by mmm — November 15, 2010 @ 3:11 pm
What's the methodology of this and is this a representative sample?
Here's OnePoll's pitch:
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The type of people that would want £2.50 for taking a poll aren't a representative sample.
Comment by EJ's Name — November 15, 2010 @ 6:50 pm
I'd say every group is a representative sample. Ask this same survey question of college students and the rates will be much higher, ask grandparents and it will be much lower.
What we can assume from the sampling is that they 1) were British 2) aware of Facebook 3) capable of having sex 4) were willing to be paid to offer anonymous answers about their sex life.
I think it's safe to also assume that polls such as this are about as representative as you can get. Almost all market research firms pay their respondents.
Comment by theardor — November 15, 2010 @ 8:09 pm
Damn, 11%
there is no point of going on dates
Comment by rozliczanie nfz — November 16, 2010 @ 9:48 am
Facebook is now the third-most valuable U.S. Web company, with a $41 billion value. FACTBOMB by TimetoSignOff.com
Comment by @timetosignoff — November 16, 2010 @ 9:52 am
but any good psychologist or sociologist would say that you are not getting anything close to a representative sample. Instead they are appealing to convenience sampling which has no statistical foundation for being reliable or valid.
Comment by Mike — December 7, 2010 @ 1:43 pm
hey ilike to do with u
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