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Congressman Anthony Weiner's sexting story demonstrates one of the most significant risks of cybersex. While teenagers wonder whether to sext or not to sext, Weiner, a mature adult, has tarnished his career because of an ill-judged and impulsive act of compulsive online sexual behavior.
So how can you protect yourself from falling foul of the lure of the internet, and even cellphones, which make it so easy to make a mistake that is oh, so hard to recover from?
First, follow my suggestions for curbing your smartphone use. You need to set limits on your own behavior, because there are few, if any limits in cyberspace. Then get your online social behavior under control -- there are real people involved, both on and off line, so protect your relationships with good netiquette.
So while Anthony Weiner suffers through speculations about his possible sex addiction, and the usual back-and-forth over whether sex addiction is a real addiction, staying smart on your smartphone and on the internet could protect you from a similar fate.
