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Online Risk Practices in Spanish Adults During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Differences According to Gender, Age, and Living Situation

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Abstract

Background

During the COVID-19 lockdown, Internet use increased due to various reasons such as maintaining social contact, working remotely, studying online, shopping, and for entertainment. However, its use exposes risky practices. The objective of this study was to explore online risk practices in adults (sexting, sextortion, pornography consumption, and cybervictimization) during lockdown, considering gender, age, and living situation.

Method

3,780 participants (70.1% women) aged 18–64 years (M = 37.8 years; SD = 12). Data were collected in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Results

Online risk practices were present regardless of gender, age, and living situation. However, based on these variables, a higher prevalence of certain online risk practices was found. Active sexting, passive sexting, and pornography consumption were more frequent in men; while the pressure to perform sexting was more present in women. Online risk practices decreased as age advanced, with the youngest (between 18 and 30 years) being the most likely to report active sexting, passive sexting, and pornography consumption. Likewise, the rates of active sexting, passive sexting, sextortion, and pornography consumption were higher in people aged 18–49 who lived with their friends or alone; while they were lower in people who lived with a partner or family. The pressure to engage in sexting was observed mostly in people aged 31–49 years who lived with friends.

Conclusions

Certain sexting practices, such as cyberbullying and pornography consumption, have a significant prevalence in the adult population.

Policy Implications

There is a need for preventive programs aimed at adults and adolescents, as well as policies that address gender equality and the Internet risks associated with affective-sexual behaviors.

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Data Availability (data transparency)

The data is not hosted on any platform. If requested by the reviewers for a justified reason, they may be shared.

Code Availability (software application or custom code)

Not applicable.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financed by Valencian International University (ref. PII2020_05). The study has been carried out in accordance with The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki), and was approved by the Committee of Evaluation and Follow-up of Research with Human Beings (CEISH) from Valencian International University (protocol code CEID2020_02). The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Funding

This study was financiated by the Valencian International University (ref. PII2020_05).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Health Sciences, Valencian International University, Pintor Sorolla 21, Valencia, 46002, Spain

    Andrea Vázquez-Martínez, Begoña Iranzo Ejarque, Verónica Villanueva-Silvestre, Sandra Gómez Martínez & Víctor José Villanueva-Blasco

  2. Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain

    Manuel Isorna Folgar

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  1. Andrea Vázquez-Martínez
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Contributions

The study conception and design were performed by Andrea Vázquez-Martínez, Verónica Villanueva-Silvestre, Manuel Isorna Folgar and Víctor José Villanueva-Blasco. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Andrea Vázquez-Martínez, Verónica Villanueva-Silvestre and Víctor José Villanueva-Blasco. The first draft of the manuscript was written by all authors, supervised by Víctor José Villanueva-Blasco and commented on previous versions of the manuscript by all authors. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Víctor José Villanueva-Blasco.

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The study has been carried out in accordance with The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki), and was approved by the Committee of Evaluation and Follow-up of Research with Human Beings (CEISH) from Valencian International University (protocol code CEID2020_02).

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Vázquez-Martínez, A., Ejarque, B.I., Villanueva-Silvestre, V. et al. Online Risk Practices in Spanish Adults During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Differences According to Gender, Age, and Living Situation. Sex Res Soc Policy 20, 1599–1609 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-023-00857-5

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