While some people can’t imagine anything sexier than figuring out 150 different sexy things to text their partners “to completion” while they’re actually watching TV or doing laundry, forthcoming research from journal Computers in Human Behavior found that, surprisingly, nobody actually enjoys sexting — we’re all just doing it out of social obligation.
The study found that, just like IRL relationships, people engage in sexting out of sheer obligation and social pressure. The study reports that 55 percent of women take part in “consensual but unwanted” sexting, and 48 percent of men don’t really want to do it either.
So why are we all even bothering? Well, of the 155 undergrads polled, most reported wanting to “flirt, engage in foreplay, satisfy a partner’s need or foster intimacy in their relationship.” Boredom was another common response, as was “I was on drugs.” Researchers suggested that men might engage as a way to fake a relationship without the investment, but were surprised to find that so many men disliked the activity. But it all makes sense, as cyber behavior really does mirror real life: forced intimacy, forced sexual stereotypes, and engaging in sexual behavior while you’d rather be watching TV means that nobody is getting off and everyone would just prefer a funny Vine — unless, of course, Scarlett Johansson is somehow involved.