There is a growing field of apps/websites designed to address user concerns about sex using valid information (e.g., OMGYes.com). Young people may turn to this educational sexuality-related technology ("sextech") to address perceived shortcomings of traditional sex education. A study published in Computers in Human Behavior investigated the prevalence, motivations, and outcomes associated with educational sextech use and examined links between sextech use and self-reported sexual function in a sample of 1029 young adults (18-24 years; 57% women). Those who reported past sextech use (n = 236; 32%) completed an anonymous survey assessing patterns of sextech use, perceptions of associated outcomes, and current sexual function. They reported use of one site/app on average. Sextech users had worse sexual function than a comparison group of non-users (n = 440; 18-24 years, 58% women) but reported perceiving sextech as helpful. Most users reported approach (vs avoidance) motives. This study is the first to our knowledge to investigate sextech use among young people and has implications for better reaching this group for sexual education. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
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