When a person decides that it is easier to satisfy sexual urges with a laptop, primary relationships inevitably suffer. In 2006, almost 40 per cent of UK couples with relationship difficulties blamed pornography, at least in part, for their problems. In the US in 2003 the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers declared the internet to be a significant factor in two divorces out of three.

Phillip Hodson, a fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, believes that internet porn can present a threat to relationships because “men are essentially lazy creatures who have a drive towards sexual satisfaction that tries to find the shortest distance between two points. Internet porn just makes that all too easy”.

Men and women understand the boundaries when it comes to cybersex; attitudes towards viewing pornography are surprisingly similar, regardless of gender. Research by the Oxford Internet Institute shows that 90 per cent of married internet users disapprove of online interaction that constitutes emotional or physical infidelity.

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