How safe is the Net?Cybersex The online equivalent of a telephone sex line, with two differences. First, it typically takes place in a chat room or IRC channel. Second, it is almost always a non-paid conversation between consenting adults. is safe sex. But the risk level increases substantially when online buddies hook up in real life. Just how much the risk increases is the focus of an online sex survey being conducted by Sheana Salyers Bull, a behavioral scientist at the Denver Public Health Department. "We know that some people's sexual behavior sexual behavior A person's sexual practices–ie, whether he/she engages in heterosexual or homosexual activity. See Sex life, Sexual life. includes Internet partner solicitation," Bull explained. "Because of the wider reach of the Internet, this might pose a greater risk of contracting an STD (Subscriber Trunk Dialing) Long distance dialing outside of the U.S. that does not require operator intervention. STD prefix codes are required and billing is based on call units, which are a fixed amount of money in the currency of that country. than by meeting someone through a friend." So far, more than 900 men and women, both gay and straight, have logged on to http://www.sexquiz.org to complete Bull's survey, which asks people if they have met partners online, what sites they used to meet them, and about their experiences with sexually transmitted diseases Sexually transmitted diseases Infections that are acquired and transmitted by sexual contact. Although virtually any infection may be transmitted during intimate contact, the term sexually transmitted disease is restricted to conditions that are largely . Results from the survey, she said, will be used to help design online STD prevention programs. |
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