Article The Use of Online Pornography as Compensation for Loneliness and Lack of Social Ties Among Israeli Adolescents Yaniv Efrati Beit-Berl College, Kfar Saba, Israel; The Research Center for Internet Psychology, Sammy Ofer School of Communication, Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel Yair Amichai-Hamburger The Research Center for Internet Psychology, Sammy Ofer School of Communication, Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel Abstract The Internet provides people with the ability to act anonymously, which may lead them to feel secure and to release them from many of their inhibitions. In many cases, this leads them to participate in cybersex activities and online pornography. This study examined the psychological factors behind young people’s sexual behavior online. Participants comprised 713 Israeli adolescents (383 boys and 330 girls) aged 14 to 18 years. Our results indicated that the impact of loneliness on online sexual activity and frequency of pornography use was dependent on participants’ attach- ment orientations. Engagement in online sexual activities and use of pornography were high among anxiously attached individuals regardless of the extent of their loneliness. Loneliness was found to increase the use of online sexual activities and pornography, only among secure and anxiously avoidant individuals. Online sexual Corresponding Author: Yaniv Efrati, Beit-Berl College, Kfar Saba, Israel. Email: ypefrati@gmail.com Psychological Reports 0(0) 1–18 ! The Author(s) 2018 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0033294118797580 journals.sagepub.com/home/prx