Behind the Screen and Between the Sheets: Exploring Perceptions of Deception in Sexting and In-Person Sexual Interactions

Deception is routinely used in sexual interactions, whether in-person or–increasingly–in online contexts, such as the solicitation of sexual images and/or video. While sexual deception has been studied in offline settings on numerous occasions, there is less research which explores sexual deception in technology-mediated communication. This study used an experimental design where respondents (n = 474) were randomly allocated either (a) a Sexual Deception Scale focused on in-person sexual behaviors, or; (b) a modified scale referring to analogous behaviors related to the solicitation of sexual images (or, “sexting”). The findings demonstrate that in-person sexual deception is generally perceived as more acceptable, and reveal several demographic groups where perceived acceptability of sexual deception in both contexts is notably increased.