These include: hand-washing limiting sexual activities to partners who are part of the household using physical barriers such as masks, condoms and dental dams creatively enacting positions that reduce risks of transmission and masturbating.Ĭoronavirus and sex: Dos and don'ts during social distancingĪs the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene says: “ You are your safest sex partner.” Suggestions for safer sex during COVID-19 have been proposed. Compared to people who made no change, those who spiced things up were more likely to report improvements in their sex life since the beginning of the pandemic.Īdditionally, preliminary evidence from another study suggests that believing that a partner is caring and understanding, can partly shield against some of the impact of COVID-19 stressors on the relationship. Interestingly, however, despite people reporting a decrease in the frequency of sexual behaviours compared to the past year, one in five individuals (20.3 per cent) added at least one new activity to their sex life, such as a new sexual position, incorporating pornography or engaging in cybersex.
(Charles Deluvio/Unsplash)Ī recent online survey found that a majority of participants in a sample of 1,559 adults reported a decline in the quality of their sex lives (43.5 per cent) during the COVID-19 pandemic, while only a minority reported improvements (13.6 per cent).
These circumstances can directly impact our intimacy.Ī majority of adults have reported a decline in the quality of their sex lives during the coronavirus pandemic. When it comes to sex and relationships, the pandemic is creating a situation where people are either living in close proximity (possibly with partners, children or other family members) or are limited in their opportunities to find partners for prolonged periods of time. For example, illness-related anxiety, heightened grief of losing a loved one, loneliness, domestic violence and financial stress. Paradoxically, these protective measures also generate unintended stressors. The COVID-19 lockdown and social distancing measures are impacting human life. In the face of a global pandemic, we are finding new, innovative and safe ways to (re)connect intimately and sexually through technology.Īs researchers studying erobotics, a field intersecting sexuality and technology, we are interested in how human-machine erotic interactions can contribute to well-being - even in times of worldwide health crisis.īeyond sex robots: Erobotics explores erotic human-machine interactions