Sex Tech Buzzwords and Shifting Sexual Wellness Trends in 2022

January 3, 2022

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Industry advisor gives context to changing and popular terminolgy.

As part of our ongoing Future of Sex Expert series, Bobbi Bidochka, the Co-chair of the Academic Congress on Love and Sex with Robots, shares what to expect from the industry in 2022.

It has been well established that the COVID-19 pandemic was instrumental in highlighting the importance of sexual health and wellness, as sex toys and sex-related products sales soared in 2020 and 2021.

According to Forbes, “the sector is widely predicted to be worth $122 billion by 2024, and a 13 percent CAGR, investors agree there are huge business opportunities to be found in sex tech and sexual wellness.” This trend will indeed continue.

Popular and changing industry terms

With the newest buzzword, “metaverse” flying around, it is becoming apparent that 2022 may the year of VR. Virtual Reality technology has had slow growth because the headsets have limitations and there was a dearth of content.

Holodexx is one company that has been heads down on creating ultra-realistic content and with the world now very much acclimated to virtual settings, I think it’s safe to predict that VR Porn will make great advances in 2022.

There is a reason why the industry has shifted terminology towards sex education and sexual health and wellness.

This is because, like it or not, academia and medicine have legitimizing and normalizing powers. A good number of sexual wellness products (aka sex toys), obtain FDA approval and can now be prescribed by a doctor. We can expect to see more trends like this in 2022.

Sex research in academia

At the same time, there has been a proliferation in sex research within academia, with researchers that are studying all aspects of sex that include sexual health, sex robots, pornography, sex education, hook-up culture, sex work, space sexology and so much more!

At the Academic Congress on Love and Sex with Robots, we are seeing huge advances, bravery in covering sexually related topics, and more granting agencies taking the topic seriously.

The excellence and innovation in sex research around the world are consistently increasing and with the recent focus on sextech, we can expect the outcomes from academia to be pervasive in 2022 and beyond.

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Bobbi Bidochka

Bobbi Bidochka is Co-chair of the Academic Congress on Love and Sex with Robots and the author of Sexual Intelligence in Business.

Eternally outspoken, she was inspired by Women and Gender Studies at McGill University and her lived experience building a business in a male-dominated sector.

Earning a degree in Political Science affords her a diverse lens to view the world and how people, institutions, organizations make decisions and navigate power relations. Bobbi is a strong advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion, and co-founded WIN4Science, to encourage young women scientists to remain in academia.

Bobbi has worked in nearly every sector, industry, corporate, non-profit, government, arts, academia, startup, and venture capital and acquired education from over six institutions in areas of humanities, accounting, arts, and social enterprise.

Taking this expertise and insights, Bobbi created imagine ideation, a firm that moves ideas forward by connected experiences and ecosystem diplomacy. With such an intensely varied background, she is able to facilitate discussions between sectors and disciplines that may not normally understand each other. As a natural networker and constant connector, Bobbi participates as a mentor to startups, taking on board member and advisory roles.