3 ms·

The whole normalisation of porn is not a net win for our civilisation. Is porn/sex work really being "normalized" in a historically contextual way? Outside of

The whole normalisation of porn is not a net win for our civilisation. Is porn/sex work really being "normalized" in a historically contextual way? Outside of about the last seventy years (maybe less), prostitution and sex work were extremely common, and, compared with the modern era, basically not criminalized. I'm not aware of a body of research that demonstrates a causal relationship between the consumption of porn and any social ill. I'm also not sure if I feel like I'm in a position to decide if OnlyFans customers would be better off without that outlet.

philwelch 6y ago
Video content that people can consume in the privacy of their own home has only really existed for 50 years or so.
- asdfasgasdgasdg 6y ago
  The theory being that video porn is substantially more harmful than actual use of prostitution services? It doesn't seem impossible, but I'd want to see some stronger evidence.
  - philwelch 6y ago
    It’s certainly different in some relevant ways. Actual use of prostitution services requires money (which limits how much you can consume, unlike online porn), requires interacting face-to-face with other human beings and sometimes even leaving the house. There’s also a dynamic where people quickly get bored with porn and start consuming increasingly extreme or fringe porn to get the same satisfaction which I think is new. To clarify, kinks aren’t new, but just like political extremism, the internet is much better at radicalizing people into them. I’m not sure if it’s good or bad, and I’m somewhat libertarian on the issue if only out of resignation, but I think that online pornography is extremely new and unprecedented and may indeed be very detrimental to society.
    - asdfasgasdgasdg 6y ago
      Yeah. I can see how the hypothesis forms. I feel like it's going to be extremely difficult to tease out what is actually caused by porn and what is caused by increased screen time, changing economic conditions, and changing non-porn cultural norms. So many confounding variables. Is porn use causative (of whatever) or is it just a biased selector? Anecdote of one, but I use it not infrequently and still have a healthy and fun sexual relationship with my spouse. Managed to produce two children and participate positively in society too. I may be baised, but I think I'm at most 25% degenerate. That being said, maybe I'll try going without for a while and see whether it has any effect.

philwelch 6y ago

Video content that people can consume in the privacy of their own home has only really existed for 50 years or so.

asdfasgasdgasdg 6y ago
The theory being that video porn is substantially more harmful than actual use of prostitution services? It doesn't seem impossible, but I'd want to see some stronger evidence.
- philwelch 6y ago
  It’s certainly different in some relevant ways. Actual use of prostitution services requires money (which limits how much you can consume, unlike online porn), requires interacting face-to-face with other human beings and sometimes even leaving the house. There’s also a dynamic where people quickly get bored with porn and start consuming increasingly extreme or fringe porn to get the same satisfaction which I think is new. To clarify, kinks aren’t new, but just like political extremism, the internet is much better at radicalizing people into them. I’m not sure if it’s good or bad, and I’m somewhat libertarian on the issue if only out of resignation, but I think that online pornography is extremely new and unprecedented and may indeed be very detrimental to society.
  - asdfasgasdgasdg 6y ago
    Yeah. I can see how the hypothesis forms. I feel like it's going to be extremely difficult to tease out what is actually caused by porn and what is caused by increased screen time, changing economic conditions, and changing non-porn cultural norms. So many confounding variables. Is porn use causative (of whatever) or is it just a biased selector? Anecdote of one, but I use it not infrequently and still have a healthy and fun sexual relationship with my spouse. Managed to produce two children and participate positively in society too. I may be baised, but I think I'm at most 25% degenerate. That being said, maybe I'll try going without for a while and see whether it has any effect.