Should we be concerned human relationships may become obsolete? Will we end up having to charge our girlfriend or boyfriend in the future? Maybe. With sex-tech jargon such as teledildonics and sex hardware floating online, the industry of erotic virtual reality is a new frontier. VR assisted wanking may not be the cause of the end of the world as we know it, but it has garnered concern about the death of human intimacy. In spite of this ‘impending doom’, there are benefits to optimising our self-pleasure.

What’s fascinating is not really the products themselves, but the possibilities these products and technology can bring to our diddling time. As there is stigma bringing technology into the bedroom, this is an apt reminder that our perceptions of what’s taboo will eventually shift. Oral sex, homosexuality, and masturbation itself were all seen as depraved acts at one point in time. Eventually, the stigma of tech-assisted sex will fade too and become another avenue of sexploration. Erotic virtual reality can allow us to experience fetishes we’ve always wanted, explore fantasies beyond regular porn and discover what really makes us tick down there. With virtual reality penetrating how we get off, left to our own devices (pun intended), we can further curate our sexual inclinations.

VR wanking differs from AI assisted sex, which refers to sex chatbots or lifesize sex dolls with an artificially intelligent brain. Erotic virtual reality is a visual platform that can immerse you into different environments and situations without leaving your couch. Combining virtual reality with artificial intelligence (big data learning, facial, or voice recognition) can improve auto-stimulation by helping us pinpoint what’s going to make our eyes roll to the back of our heads. For some people, hitting the right buttons to climax may be more like playing a game of battleship than a precise science. Getting to know your erogenous zones with the aid of technical assistance could lead you to hit all the right buttons. Plus who wouldn’t want the cheat codes to guaranteed orgasms?

You can explore your kinks or indulge in repressed sexual inclinations privately. For instance, if you’re in the closet and aren’t ready to swipe on Grindr, you can try it out in the VR realm. Or if you have a private kink you’re not ready to tell your partner yet? Pop on an Oculus and buffer away. Pornhub has been one of the leaders in sex-tech innovations. Partnered up with Fleshlight, it released free interactive videos that sync up with any VR and wireless sex toys. This can either be seen as a foray into a new sexual platform or encouraging problematic sexual behaviour such as erasing empathy only learned through human relationships. As studies show masturbation already decreases depression and improves self-esteem, VR assisted wanking could further elevate your mental health. A wanking 2.0 with an emphasis on the “O”.

Beyond wanking off to your favourite porn stars, your fiddling sessions could be transported to fantastical erotic scenarios never dreamt possible. Want to be a massive griffin air-fucking a princess? Now you can. Want to fuck aquatic aliens in a 5th dimension galaxy? Done. FYI, I’m totally thinking the Mul people from Valerian and the City of a thousand planets movie. So hot. The artistic possibilities that can be integrated with virtual reality can heighten the immersive experience and unite art and sex in a way that’s never been executed before.

For instance, the Museum of Sex in New York City has created Celestial Bodies, an immersive VR experience where you can not only visualise sexual fantasies—you can feel them. Users are allowed to walk freely within the augmented space outfitted with a VR headset and Optitrak motion sensors. What makes this so titillating is it allows you to go beyond point-of-view porn and enter an imaginative sexual fantasy that activates all the senses.

According to Dr. Ian Kerner, a PhD sexologist and sex author, tech assisted wank sessions could have a negative impact on your real life relationships and your imagination. Without using your imagination to retrieve erotic images, it could cause serious damage to how you navigate human intimacy. Kerner argues that when that sexual connection is severed, the lack of imagination or in some cases over-imagination can alter what turns you on. Further disconnecting you from partnered sex.

I’d disagree with Kerner here. It’s all about your perspective. Although those are possible scenarios, the positives of tech-assisted wanking are also valid. You can experience an array of unique sexual scenarios and explore your fetishes and kinks without having to engage with someone else. Like a kinky beta testing. As for the severed human connection, many believe VR masturbation can diminish empathy. Contrarily there are studies that show virtual reality is a successful aid in increasing empathy involving different races or genders. So there is a possibility VR can increase empathy in this sector too.

Some may say that this new platform of wanking 2.0 is a gateway to further deteriorating the notion of human intimacy. I say this could be a positive direction to healthier sex habits, getting to know your body better and exploring your imagination. We all need some future sex optimism in our lives. Just make sure you have a good wifi connection.