19 per cent Indian women, compared to 21 per cent globally, use smartphone applications to find a partner for hookups.
19 per cent Indian women, compared to 21 per cent globally, use smartphone applications to find a partner for hookups or to look for long-term or short term relationships, says a recent study.
According to the study, about 62 per cent Indian women engage in sexting on smart phone apps.
The study titled ‘Mobile sex-tech apps: How use differs across global areas of high and low gender equality’ was published in the journal PLOS ONE.
The data for the survey was collected through an anonymous questionnaire.
The research assessed “how women around the world interact with mobile technology for sex-related purposes, and whether in areas of greater gender inequality, technological accessibility may be empowering women with knowledge about sexuality.”
The researchers took responses from 1, 30,885 women in 191 countries, including 23,093 from India.
Most of the existing literature about sex-tech engagement is limited to North America or Western Europe. “This is the first study that’s been able to give us insight into the use of technology in the sexual lives of such a large number women around the world,” lead author Amanda Gesselman, associate director for research at the Kinsey Institute, was quoted as saying by Phys.org.
According to researchers, women in countries with higher gender inequality were less likely to use apps to find a dating partner but nearly four times more likely to engage in sexting when compared with women in regions with lower inequality.
Sexting is the exchange of sexual texts, pictures, or videos via mobile phone or other electronic media.
“This suggests that more conservative ideals regarding gender roles do not necessarily prevent women from engaging in taboo or forbidden behaviours. This insight opens up an entirely novel line of inquiry for understanding how women navigate social expectations to meet their own needs and desires,” Virginia Vitzthum, professor of anthropology at Indiana University, Kinsey Institute senior scientist and senior research scientist at Clue, said.
The research also found out that about one-third had used an app to track their own sexual activity.