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I wish they'd include the idea of "competition in the marketplace for orgasms" alongside these social and economic ideas. People have limited time & energy, so

I wish they'd include the idea of "competition in the marketplace for orgasms" alongside these social and economic ideas. People have limited time & energy, so some percent are conceivably putting less effort into the difficult ways of relieving sexual tension (relationships) while favoring the easier ways to do so (pornography). Porn has been one of the first industries to take advantage of technology, and the change in accessibility of porn is unparalleled. It went from something one was forced to sneakily travel to shady locations and physically purchase to something that we are accidentally exposed to or even advertised to on omnipresent screens everywhere in our lives. And that isn't even going into the way the market has selected for 'more potent' forms of pornography- like the way that just about every fetish can be explored to depths that would shock/offend someone who doesn't share it. (something that probably has an isolating effect on relationships) And it also isn't accounting for the new-ish industry of 'relationship replacement' style streamers- another economic activity that I believe must be competing with traditional 1 on 1 relationships.

01100011 7y ago
There has always been porn. IME, it served several roles, but generally did not replace the desire to be in a relationship or at least physically intimate with another person. Sure, porn is more available and more potent in a sense now, and it may be a factor, but I think at most it is a minor one. Something else is making kids introverted and isolated.
- borumpilot 7y ago
  40 years ago, when I started my interest in porn, it was... different. Both in availability and in "potentness". Skip forward 40 years, I have a bunch of millennial kids. Their (for me discoverable) sexual encounters are extremely limited in comparison to mine and that of my wife, at that age. Personally I do not think that the one (porn) has much to do with the other (limited). What I suspect is far more the lack of privacy and anonymity. Everyone in their age group seems afraid of the potential flack they will receive “when people find out I did X with Y”. And with the current over connectivity that seems a real possibility. Whereas we, between 15 and 25, could disappear for a couple of hours / days, and the lamest excuse would enable you to get away with anything. I truly do not envy this generation. It seems growing up, as in establishing your own personality and experiences, is so much harder.
feministincel 7y ago
As much as the marketplace analogy makes me uncomfortable it is what I’ve observed personally.
lordCarbonFiber 7y ago
I'd say there's more to explore with the societal effects of parasocial internet relationships than porn. Less a "competitive market of pleasure" and more a market for attention. Even a casual relationship is fairly high cost interms of time (and potentially money) something millennials (and gen Z) aren't known for having in abundance.

01100011 7y ago

There has always been porn. IME, it served several roles, but generally did not replace the desire to be in a relationship or at least physically intimate with another person. Sure, porn is more available and more potent in a sense now, and it may be a factor, but I think at most it is a minor one. Something else is making kids introverted and isolated.

borumpilot 7y ago
40 years ago, when I started my interest in porn, it was... different. Both in availability and in "potentness". Skip forward 40 years, I have a bunch of millennial kids. Their (for me discoverable) sexual encounters are extremely limited in comparison to mine and that of my wife, at that age. Personally I do not think that the one (porn) has much to do with the other (limited). What I suspect is far more the lack of privacy and anonymity. Everyone in their age group seems afraid of the potential flack they will receive “when people find out I did X with Y”. And with the current over connectivity that seems a real possibility. Whereas we, between 15 and 25, could disappear for a couple of hours / days, and the lamest excuse would enable you to get away with anything. I truly do not envy this generation. It seems growing up, as in establishing your own personality and experiences, is so much harder.

feministincel 7y ago

As much as the marketplace analogy makes me uncomfortable it is what I’ve observed personally.

lordCarbonFiber 7y ago

I'd say there's more to explore with the societal effects of parasocial internet relationships than porn. Less a "competitive market of pleasure" and more a market for attention. Even a casual relationship is fairly high cost interms of time (and potentially money) something millennials (and gen Z) aren't known for having in abundance.