One of the most interesting parts of working in marketing for a sexual wellness salesman are the demonstration meetings. Sex toy manufacturers regularly reach out to introduce new innovations, hoping to feature their new products on your site. An hour on Zoom exploring games that run the gamut, buzzy, noisy, quiet. Things you would never have thought of on your own. Beyond breaking up a mundane workday, these meetings serve a real purpose: they keep industry experts informed about emerging technologies and products that consumers are increasingly interested in. It’s a reminder that the sex toy industry is constantly evolving, and the professionals who serve people best are the ones who move with it.
Recently, Love and Lust, the sex toy retailer I work for, sponsored an event for sex therapists. During the event we were able to host a discussion about when sex therapists might struggle to talk about sex toys with their clients. What struck me was how often the questions they asked had a product answer I could think of off the top of my head. When a therapist brought up a client who was managing pelvic pain, I thought of the toys that are now specifically designed with adjustable depth and gentler insertion lengths. When another described a male partner who felt threatened by his partner’s game use, I immediately thought of the growing world of app-connected couples’ games, designed to be experienced together and even controlled remotely, making game use seem more collaborative than competitive.
The gap wasn’t in products, it was in awareness. Sexuality professionals are uniquely positioned to guide clients to tools that can truly support their sexual health, but only if they know what’s out there. The aforementioned app-controlled toys are part of a category worth understanding, digitally enabled sex toys or “smart toys”. A narrative review of 2024 on the prevalence, contexts and benefits of these devices is a useful place to start.
About the Study
Digitally activated sex toys can also be called “smart sex toys” or “teledildonics” and are often based on familiar toy formats: sleeves, clitoral stimulators, G-spot toys, even handheld devices and jewelry. What makes them “smart” is their integration with a companion app or digital device. They’re often advertised as tools for long-distance intimacy, but their applications go further than that. These devices can create or enhance sexual experiences and can also collect data about users in the process.
A literature review collected and analyzed 41 academic articles and studies published between 2011 and 2024 on smart sex toys. Bringing them together meant looking for themes: who uses smart sex toys, under what circumstances, and what role they might play in sexual well-being.
Who is using smart sex toys and how?
Research of 2023 found that 9% of respondents had used a smart sex toy at some point. Use was more common among men than women and among queer people than straight people.
Other research has focused on couples, which makes sense given how these products are typically marketed, primarily to people in long-distance monogamous relationships. But the data tell a more complicated story. In fact, most couples inside a study they used these devices together and not from long distances. They saw smart sex toys more as a means of enhancing female pleasure than as enhancing sex at a distance. Where long distance usage appears most consistently is there digital sex work arrangementssuch as on platforms such as Chaturbate, where paying users can remotely control devices used by artists.
That said, there is some evidence that smart toys can benefit long-distance couples. A study tested a phone attachment designed to simulate the feeling of a partner’s kiss, finding that this type of connection increased relationship satisfaction for long-distance couples
How smart toys boost sexual well-being
Research shows that smart sex toys offer new opportunities for women to specifically explore their bodies and pleasure. In situations where they were physically away from their partner while smart toys were being used, they felt less pressure and self-consciousness. Not having to worry about how they looked or how they performed gave them more room to focus on what actually felt good.
A related benefit appeared in research on VR pornography combined with the smart device feature, which has been found to reduce sexual anxiety. This has potential applications in therapeutic contexts.
Smart sex toys also promise people with limited mobility. Researchers have developed several prototypes aimed at expanding access to pleasure for disabled people, including a controlled through brain wave activity.
Conclusion
Smart Sex Toys:
They are sex toys that can be integrated with a companion app or digital device.
It can be used remotely or in the same space.
They are used more often by men than women and by queer people than straight people.
It can allow women to feel less self-conscious. It may allow many people to experience less sexual anxiety.
You have future applications for disabled people.
If you want to see smart games in action, explore Love and Lust’s app controlled games section. Not sure where to start? Our helpful, professional customer service team is always happy to help you find a product that suits your needs. We are also open to working with client-facing sexuality professionals who want to put their demonstration products into practice.
Do you want to become an in-demand sexual health professional? Learn more about SHA certification!
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