244
Copyright © 2019, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
Chapter 14
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-4047-2.ch014
ABSTRACT
Online behavior varies according to the purpose and situations and many get involved in intimate re-
lations, like in online dating, which have an impact on the person and his mental health. The chapter
focused on the impact of online dating, cyber stalking, cybersex, and pornography on mental health.
Though many studied the online dating among adolescents and adults, that of old age group is not yet
fully explored especially about their sexual needs. It is worth exploring factors related to risky sexual
behaviors among gay and bisexual individuals. Online dating for mentally ill people is an under-
researched area. Cyberstalking is an important issue, especially among adolescents and young adults,
and cybersex and cyber pornography threatens the safety and mental health in addition to the problems
of addiction and child trafcking, and it is linked with high sexual risk behaviors and sex crimes. It is
necessary to develop tailored psychotherapeutic and pharmacological interventions by taking into ac-
count the complexity and heterogeneity of the problems.
INTRODUCTION
Cyber-psychology is an emerging discipline that focuses on the study of human-machine interaction. It
is an area of psychology focusing on the study of the effects of cyberspace on the behavior of humans
and of society in general. (Grand Dictionnaire de la langue française, 2000). It deals with cyber space
interaction and impacts of virtual realities. Virtual reality can be defined as the application that makes
it possible for the user to navigate and to interact in real time with an environment in three dimensions
generated by a computer (Pratt, Zyda, & Kelleher, 1995). Researchers are trying to understand about
virtual realities and how it affects human behavior and its pros and cons. Social networking is one of
the major topics widely discussed. According to Cambridge dictionary social networking is the use of
Impact of Online Dating,
Cyber Stalking, Cybersex, and
Pornography on Mental Health
Rejani Thudalikunnil Gopalan
Gujarat Forensic Sciences University, India