I have a partner who happens to be American and hates the Puritanism back home that wants everybody to erase their desires. In the rest of the world, sexual desire is normal, even when you're doing something serious with your life. And in the end, this guy's request for nudes probably has nothing to do with sex, but with validation and proximity, but the idea that talks about sex are never about actual sex is probably inconceivable in this conversation.
By the way I'm not defending the guy. I'm attacking the pearl-clutching moralists who demand inhumane behavior from humans. The guy looks a bit like a loser for doing so, but there's a difference between being light and being harmful.