The terms virtual sex and cybersex are often used interchangeably. Both terms are relatively new and, just as with the word sex, no single agreed upon definition exists.
Most definitions of virtual sex include the concept of two or more people exchanging digital information (including text messages, still pictures, video, audio, or some combination) with the intention of sexual arousal. Some people use the term virtual sex only to describe two or more people interacting, while others would consider looking at pornography or playing a sexually explicit computer game to be a form of virtual sex. Other more narrow definitions refer to virtual sex as “simulated intercourse.”
What can be thought of as the distinguishing feature of virtual sex is an intent to be sexual. If you are flirting online (whether planned or not) or if you happen across a pornographic website but then surf away from it, these interactions may not be considered virtual sex. They might fall under the broader term human computer sexual interaction but it seems useful to separate interactions that have a goal versus those that happen in the course of daily activities.
