People who frequent online sex, fetish and swinging sites have ?alarmingly high? rates of depression, anxiety and stress, says a shocking new research. What?s more, people who seek out cyber sex typically devote hours a day to the covert activity, the study found.

The Australian research also revealed that overwhelmingly male, well-educated, and aged anywhere from 18 to 80 indulge in such kind of ?pleasure?. They spend an average of just over 12 hours on the sites each week ? mostly chatting, participating in cyber sex with webcams, downloading video and images, or sending erotic emails, the study found.

The research revealed that more than 65 % of the 1325 American and Australian men surveyed said they had met someone off line that they had first encountered online.

Marcus Squirrell, a doctoral student at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, said the study, to be presented at a major psychology conference soon, was the first to paint a full picture of cyber sex surfers.