En inbjudan att skriva artiklar till ett specialnummer om sexualitet och digitala medier.

CALL FOR PAPERS

CYBERPSYCHOLOGY: JOURNAL OF PSYCHOSOCIAL RESEARCH ON CYBERSPACE

SPECIAL ISSUE ON – Sexuality and digital media

• Abstract submission deadline – April 30, 2013

• Notification of acceptance – May 30, 2013

• Full paper submission deadline – September 30, 2013

• Publications of the special issue: – March 2014

Guest-edited by:

Dr. Kristian Daneback (University of Gothenburg, Sweden)

e-mail: kristian.daneback@socwork.gu.se

Dr. Anna Ševčíková (Masaryk University, the Czech Republic)

e-mail: asevciko@fss.muni.cz

Background

Online sexuality has been systematically researched for over fifteen years. Due to the fast paced

technological development leading to increased computer power and high speed internet, new

issues and themes have emerged. In addition and sometimes as a result, there have been rapid

changes in numbers of users, user demographics as well as usage patterns. For example, early textbased

online communication about sex, mostly anonymous, was later combined with the massive

visualization of sexuality in pictures, video and webcams. Further technological advances resulted in

easy sharing of high-resolution pictures and movie clips, enlarges opportunities how to use the

internet for sexual purposes in that users could generate their own sexual content known as web 2.0.

The pornography industry, sex shops and other sex related organizations have not lagged behind and

have moved their business online. Some of the more recent developments have been WiFi and the

shift from the stationary PC to laptops and now smart phones and tablets/pads. Little is known how

this will influence online sexuality.

Today the internet is a fully sexualized medium which individuals actively use for sexual purposes or,

sometimes, are passively exposed to. This means that many people have to deal with online sexuality

whether they want it or not. Apart from the changes in user practices, it is important to mention that

since first studies on online sexuality the original structure of internet users encompassing middle

aged people has expanded in both directions. While young generations have grown up surrounded

by the internet, older generations, step by step, integrate the internet into their everyday life.

The aim of the special issue is to give an overview how online sexuality is intertwined with different

age groups and which benefits and risks related to online sexuality emerges across the lifespan. The

aim is also to broaden the focus on the internet to new digital media such as smart phones and

tablets/pads.

We are seeking theoretical and empirical contributions that focus on, but are not restricted to:

• the impact of (new) digital media on sexuality

• patterns of digital media use for sexual purposes across the lifespan

• benefits and/or risks with online sexuality

• health and educational aspects of online sexuality

Submission process and deadlines

For this special issue, we invite contributions from all fields of the social sciences to submit detailed

abstracts (600 words) – please put “Cyberpsychology Special Issue” in the subject line.

to: asevciko@gmail.com

The abstract proposals should cover the central research question, the theoretical and

methodological basis for the paper and preliminary findings. The most relevant and promising

abstracts will be selected for further development into full manuscripts (up to 8000 words).

Abstracts should be submitted by April 30, and the deadline for submission of full manuscripts is

September 30. In line with guidelines of the ‘Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on

Cyberspace’ all abstracts and manuscripts will be double blind peer-reviewed. The intended time of

publishing the special issue is March 2014.

About the journal: Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace is a web-based,

peer-reviewed scholarly journal. The first peer-reviewed issue was published in September 2007. The

journal is focused on social science research about cyberspace. It brings psychosocial reflections of

the impact of the Internet on people and society. The journal is interdisciplinary, publishing works

written by scholars of psychology, media studies, sociology, political science, nursing, and also other

disciplines. The journal is indexed with Ebsco Academic Search Complete, the Directory of Open

Access Journals, and the Czech Database of Scientific Journals. For previous issues and author

guidelines please see: http://www.cyberpsychology.eu

About the guest editors:

Kristian Daneback, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Gothenburg,

Sweden and in the Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. His main

field of research is sexuality and in particular internet sexuality, but he is also interested in other

internet related phenomena such as parenthood and the internet, cyberbullying, and how the

internet can be used to collect qualitative and quantitative data. Daneback has published his

research in several well known international journals such as Archives of Sexual Behavior,

Cyberpsychology, Behavior, & Social Networking, Journal of Sexual and Relationship Therapy, Journal

of Bisexuality, and Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity. In addition, he is a reviewer for journals such as

Journal of Sex Research, Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, Pediatrics, Sex Roles, and

Sexual Reproduction & Health Care. Currently he serves as the Associated Editor of Cyberpsychology:

Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace and is a Board Member of the Open Journal of

Communication and ISRN Family Medicine. Daneback is also a member of the International Academy

of Sex Research and the Association of Internet Researchers.

Anna Ševčíková, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral researcher in the Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk

University in Brno, Czech Republic. Her research interest includes sexuality on the internet and

psychosexual development. She also specializes in researching online risks among children and

adolescents which she has studied within two projects funded by the Grant Agency of The Czech

Republic and the Czech Ministry of Youth, Education and Sport. Outcomes of her research work have

been published in several international journals. Since 2012 she is also a member of the International

Academy of Sex Research.