2 ms·

I think the model is that of a "gateway drug". While the long term intentions (infidelity) might be the same, social barriers prevent many people from taking i

I think the model is that of a "gateway drug". While the long term intentions (infidelity) might be the same, social barriers prevent many people from taking it forward. Signing up on a website is something a lot of people do for a lot of things and making that the entry point to something exciting and forbidden is good marketing at best and psychological manipulation at worst. For some (perhaps most) people, just creating an account and taking a peek is usually not enough to push them over but for many others, it's enough to start a chain reaction that will end up somewhere which will have real consequences for them and multiple people related to them. Not a good idea and a company that's making money off of this without even considering that is not very ethical in my estimation.

nerdjon 2y ago
Right which is why I acknowledge there is nuance, but I just strongly disagree with it being "barely less bad" when I would consider it "significantly less bad" or borderline not bad at all depending on how far things got. Especially if maybe they were just watching porn and briefly in a horny state wanted to check something out. Post nut clarity is a thing. There is just such a large number of events and thought processes between a last minute rash decision to make an account somewhere and actually meeting up with someone, not the least of which is the time and effort to make it happen. To say just making an account is barely less bad than actually going through with cheating is... wild.
- noufalibrahim 2y ago
  Agreed from the perspective of the person who signs up. I wouldn't judge him too harshly unless he finally went ahead and actually had an affair. OTOH, the makers of the website have designed it to push people to do something that's likely very damaging just to sell a product. And then topped it off by lying about what they're selling.

nerdjon 2y ago

Right which is why I acknowledge there is nuance, but I just strongly disagree with it being "barely less bad" when I would consider it "significantly less bad" or borderline not bad at all depending on how far things got. Especially if maybe they were just watching porn and briefly in a horny state wanted to check something out. Post nut clarity is a thing. There is just such a large number of events and thought processes between a last minute rash decision to make an account somewhere and actually meeting up with someone, not the least of which is the time and effort to make it happen. To say just making an account is barely less bad than actually going through with cheating is... wild.

noufalibrahim 2y ago
Agreed from the perspective of the person who signs up. I wouldn't judge him too harshly unless he finally went ahead and actually had an affair. OTOH, the makers of the website have designed it to push people to do something that's likely very damaging just to sell a product. And then topped it off by lying about what they're selling.