Technology is permeating into every part of our life and this will all soon extend to the bedroom.
Technology is permeating into every part of our life — from fridge cams connected to our phones that tell us when we’re out of milk, to apps that allow us to turn the central heating on as we leave our final meeting. And this will all soon extend to the bedroom.
Far from creating barriers and causing tension in relationships, technology in the coming years will bring people closer, opening up a whole new world of personalised pleasure. From apps that encourage you to discover more about your partner to completely redefining social constructs around what sex actually is, technology will have a huge impact on your relationships. Here are the top 10 ways we think technology will change your sex life in the coming years:
With access to the internet right at our fingertips, and a wide variety of content and products out there to be discovered, your curiosity will know no bounds. There are lots of new and exciting ways to pleasure and be pleasured that are entering mainstream society. As the internet further connects communities, you’ll be able to find out more about different kinks or find likeminded people.
The age-old dilemma of becoming stuck in a rut both sexually and emotionally in relationships will be combatted through innovative apps and platforms that aim to bring life back to long-term relationships. This is starting to come to the fore now, with apps such as UnderCovers providing inspiration to couples on how they can spice up their bedroom antics while uncovering new things about each other on a deeper level.
The rise of high-tech sex toys, that can be moulded to your exact specifications, will bring about a revolution in pleasure. Moving from the old-school view that sex and pleasure is the same for all, pleasure making — both solo and within relationships — will become increasingly more tailored to the individual.
Advances in technology have always challenged convention and this time will be no different. Through using technology such as robotics and VR in ways never before used, exploring in this way will open the mind to learning new things about the body and wider sexual issues which can only be a good thing.
As we move towards personalised pleasure as the norm, the traditional view on sex as purely for reproductive purposes or from a penetration standpoint will disappear. The conversations around sex will become more open and include a lot more variety.
The rise in 24/7 access to internet and widely available video chat features means couples can be thousands of miles apart and yet feel as though they are in the same room. Having access to a constant form of communication means couples can maintain the level of contact and openness needed to nurture their long-distance relationship. (Here are 6 Sextech-y Tips in Maintaining a Long-Distance Relationship.)
Teledildonic products which simulate sex in a computer driven virtual reality, particularly between the VR presences of two people separated by distance, will start to become more mainstream. This will challenge long held assumptions around what it means to be intimate and will significantly contribute towards keeping the magic alive for couples who live miles apart.
The way we meet potential partners has already changed immeasurably over the past five years, with apps such as Happn, Tinder and Grindr meaning you can meet a huge number of people for any variety of reasons with very little effort. As more and more platforms for finding love are created, the way we meet potential partners and go through initial stages of dating will become increasingly technological.
While it seems quite alien to imagine VR and AR as part of your intimate time with a partner or, indeed, solo, as these new technologies become more widely used they will certainly start to be seen within the bedroom. From creating truly out of this world surroundings through VR headsets that generate the perfect atmosphere to projecting digital stimulus into the bedroom itself, VR and AR will drive sexual experience forwards in the coming years.
These advances in technology and the evolving ways we start to bring tech in to our every-day sex lives will greatly contribute to removing stigma and inhibitions that currently surround the topic. Things that were once considered taboo or only for the brave-hearted will become the norm, and inhibition to take pleasure into your own hands will be a thing of the past.
This article was first featured on Refinery29.
