If the 1968 cult classic Barbarella gave us any indication of what sex in the future is like, we'll start relying more on pills and technology for pleasure than actual people. Instead of fearing this dystopian vision, however, perhaps it's time to break down the stigma surrounding virtual sex, since today's sex tech revolution has made the future a rapidly approaching reality.
In the past decade, innovation has gifted us sex dolls that can talk dirty, mechanized blow job machines, bluetooth vibrators and virtual reality porn, so there's no shortage of virtual and/or robotic means to get off. According to a recent article in The Daily Mirror, Dr. Helen Driscoll, an authority on sex and psychology, says that by the year 2070, sex with people will seem "primitive" and robot/virtual sex will be the norm. She even suggests that people will fall in love with their robot partners (mine will totally look like the T-1000, thanks) and that it will be totally NBD.
Who knows if this will really be the case, but it's hard to argue with the fact that technology and sex have formed a symbiotic relationship that will continue well into the foreseeable future. Here are five ways that virtual sex might actually be healthy, fun, or, at the very least, practical, because hey, robots and holograms need love too.
1. There's No Risk Of STDs Or Pregnancy
You can bang 100 robot lovers with impunity and thoughts of condoms, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted disease don't even have to cross your mind. (Watch out for that robot jealousy tho...)
2. You Can Experiment Safely
There's no need to convince someone to try something you've always wanted to try when said partner isn't a real person. Consent and sexual ethics don't mean anything in the realm of virtual sex — which, come to think of it, is what's so scary about this uncharted territory.
3. It Can Be Emotionally Healing
According to Dr. Driscoll, a virtual relationship is often better than no relationship at all, and can actually lend much needed emotional support. "This may seem shocking and unusual now, but we should not automatically assume that virtual relationships have less value than real relationships," she told The Daily Mirror. For proof, look no further than Joaquin Phoenix's character in Her.
4. It's Less Emotionally Risky
If you're in a virtual relationship, you never have to worry about your lover leaving you or finding someone better. And, if you one day decide you're not feeling your virtual relationship either, you can always swap your robot/virtual reality program out for a newer model, guilt free.
5. You Can Practice Your Moves Safely
You don't have to impress your virtual and/or robot lovers, but can instead focus on your own pleasure without being selfish. The best part is you can then use that prowess on real people — if you haven't already given up on humans entirely, that is.
Want more of Bustle's Sex and Relationships coverage? Check out our new podcast, I Want It That Way, which delves into the difficult and downright dirty parts of a relationship, and find more on our Soundcloud page.
Images: Giphy (5)
