According to William Shakespeare, "All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players." This is still relevant today, as couples are acting the part of star-crossed lovers by turning their bedrooms into stages and letting their cameras and cellphones roll while they have sex.

"Everybody has a sex tape. I swear, at least anybody who is adventurous," says Rebecca, who has made about six of these home videos with her boyfriend Charles. The two have been in a long-distance relationship for years and started filming their sex acts two years into the relationship.

"It was never a fantasy really, because I never thought about it before being in this relationship," she said. Curiosity, however, took the lead when they finally decided to give it a shot.

"I think for us, because the sex is so great, we've always wondered what great sex looks like."

Started out taking pictures

They started out by taking pictures. "We moved from that to actually recording the act," she added.

Many are apprehensive about putting something so private on record.

"Oh, hell no, I don't want a scandal," said Grace. She admitted the furthest she has ventured is taking nude pictures without showing her face while her boyfriend was around, and deleting them immediately. Like many, she fears the repercussions if the pictures were to exit the bedroom.

It is an understandable fear, as international film stars Pamela Anderson and Paris Hilton had infamous sex tapes which were leaked. Locally, there are a number of similar pictures and videos which have made their way into people's inboxes and transferred to their phones.

Trust and discretion

That's where trust and discretion come into play. According to psychologist, Dr Sydney McGill, this is something that should exist between partners before they engage in such an act. "I think it is normal, if this movie is only for your private viewing," he said. "If the goal of recording this is for public viewing, to me, it would appear as attention-seeking behaviour."

He explains that this is behaviour which arises from emotional damage or low self-esteem. This is a possible explanation when videos of younger girls and older men are discovered. Another reason these images may get into other hands is a vendetta, which often damages both individuals' reputation.

However, between consenting adults, the practice can actually improve sex. "It's like learning public speaking, if you can record yourself, it helps." He said it is actually a therapy method, which is used internationally to help couples improve their intimacy.

It also adds to the eroticism of the act, he said. "You are the star in the movie and you are able to evaluate your own sexual performance by what you feel you are doing right and the effect it seems to have on your partner."

Fear of indulging

But it still does not erase the fear which most people feel about indulging.

Information technology consultant Andrew Hewitt advises people to stay clear of sending such images via email to avoid a leak, whether it's through free email services like Hotmail and Yahoo! or company networks.

"The inherent risk is that they have servers which control the movement of data. In doing so, they often cache (store) the information," he said, which can be stored for an extended period. While for free email services your information may be insignificant in the wider world, in companies, it's not that insignificant.

"Corporate servers are closer to home, so that can prove a bit more embarrassing. You can lose your job," he said, as corporate policies usually dictate and restrict what you are allowed to do with email and, therefore, they are free to check this information.

A similar risk is involved with sending video and picture messages via cellphones.

He recommends that if you must store this sensitive information, do so on a personal computer in a zipped folder, which is encrypted and password-protected.

Now Rebecca and Charles are extra careful where filming their sex acts is concerned. They had an argument some time ago and deleted the videos together from their camera to avoid any future problems. The couple are back together and Rebecca said she has no problem going on camera again.

Names changed

sacha.walters@gleanerjm.com

First Published March 10, 2008