Tracing the Evolving Discourse of Sexual Technology: A Longitudinal Analysis of Emotional, Ethical, and Technological Narratives on Reddit

This study explores how public discourse surrounding sexual technology evolves emotionally, thematically, and ethically over time. Drawing on 68,318 Reddit comments collected between 2016 and 2025, we employ a multidimensional framework that integrates thematic drift analysis, sentiment dynamics, and ethical discourse mapping using natural language processing techniques. Our findings reveal a discursive transition from emotionally exploratory themes—such as love, companionship, and AI affection—toward ethically charged concerns including control, surveillance, and sextortion. Sentiment analysis shows a marked polarity decline in the later years of the dataset, particularly in comments associated with digital risk and moral anxiety. Semantic network analysis further demonstrates the centrality of ethical keywords like consent, privacy, and data in user discourse. While earlier conversations reflected optimism and affective openness toward sextech, the later discourse increasingly embodied critique, emotional ambivalence, and normative concerns. This study contributes to the literature by offering a temporal, data‐driven lens through which to understand the affective and ethical dimensions of digitally mediated intimacy. It also introduces a replicable methodological approach that bridges computational discourse analysis with digital ethics, advancing both theoretical and empirical inquiries into human‐technology relationships in the realm of sexual technology.