How Much Porn Are We Watching? A Lot
9 points by pseudolus 3 hours ago | 15 comments
  • wumeow 3 hours ago |
    There's been a bit of a backlash among younger generations against sex scenes in movies and shows, and while some people think it's because they're more prudish, I wonder if part of it may be because of easy access to porn. Watching two naked actors bounce around suggestively is less titillating than it used to be when you can pull up the real deal, on demand, from your pocket.
    • josefresco 2 hours ago |
      The backlash is because they aren't having sex themselves. Whether their sexual needs are being "met" or satisfied by porn is another question.

      https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/people-have-been-...

      https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/teen-sexual-activity-c...

      https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr196.pdf

    • yieldcrv 2 hours ago |
      in addition to the other comment

      they also are more prudish, in that context. they don't want to be turned on in that context specifically because they're inundated on social media feeds and the specifically erotic sources they compulsory indulge in. there's a pushback because many are addicted and don't actually want to be.

      they lack any world where there was a healthy balance to refer to, so its not just an indulgence, its debilitating. and many aren't socially adept at getting what they're seeing in person, or able to afford recreational use to get that in person.

      its a pretty unique combination.

    • christophilus 2 hours ago |
      I think it’s because the sex scenes are almost always gratuitous and out of place. They rarely serve the story and almost always detract, and many movies would arguably be better without it. I feel the same way when a movie pauses to make a political or social PSA. Like, it’s fine if it’s a natural flow of the story arc. But it’s almost always just a jarring deviation.
      • mingus88 2 hours ago |
        In the days of the early web there was a database that would give you timestamps and descriptions of nudity in movies, so that you could cut straight to the chase

        Or maybe I am remembering a scene from a raunchy comedy of that era (which probably prompted someone to make it)

        But the point is that in the dial up era there was no other way for horny people to get full motion video and audio smut, and there was a high demand for it

        Today the supply has far outpaced demand and we can consume as much as we can, all day every day.

        Movies simply don’t need to cater to that need any longer, and the movies are better for it

    • doright 2 hours ago |
      It could be that a large amount of porn consumption is kept as a private thing, but when sex scenes appear in media that is consumed "in public" (theatres, on the living room couch with friends, etc.) any reminder of that private life might cause anxiety about sexual preferences being found out by others. So the natural inclination is to react as strongly as the rest of the people against such scenes to avoid standing out. Also, maybe such prudishness could also publicly channel negative thoughts about the private porn consumption in an indirect way, in a "that's not really me" sense.

      I'm speculating here since porn is easier to hide the consumption of entirely unlike something like drugs. A more sympathetic reaction towards such scenes could be unconsciously seen as as much as a giveaway as a razor with mystery powder on it.

    • Yizahi an hour ago |
      And maybe finally there will be less focus on sex in the thematically unrelated movies. It's simply boring and predictable at this point, while taking valuable screen time out of 99 minute runtime. Same with forced old audience references in kids content and kid jokes and in the older audience content.

      Movies shouldn't be a salad of all possible tropes, genres and references just to try catch widest possible audience.

  • brink 2 hours ago |
    Just from my own personal experience, porn makes me apathetic, unproductive, and consequentially - miserable. Happy to see more people my age are starting to think that maybe porn is not such a good thing. I've cut it out of my life about as much as I can.
    • bluenomatterwho an hour ago |
      It's interesting. In the days since the election my Threads feed has been dominated by posts claiming that your experience means you wrote Project 2025, you are a misogynist, Nazi, etc. You aren't following the Science. 9 out of 10 neuroscientists agree, the smooth flavor of OF isn't just tasty, it's better for you! It's just your hate that makes you see these negative consequences.
      • polotics an hour ago |
        can you provide links to these posts?
        • bluenomatterwho an hour ago |
          If this were social media I would just screenshot it for you. There are also people posting more I guess, substantial criticisms of Project 2025, for example. I'm not sure what you're after, but my point is merely to relay the rhetoric. I'm only trying to reflect the climate, which should be easy enough to infer. Another thing I would cross reference this article and the zeitgeist with would be the Kinsey Report. Sex maniacs everywhere! This is just how humans are! Well, yeah, with that sample set. I'll stop short of any potential implications of Kinsey, et al, or asking 'why is so much of it free?' which might introduce analogies to vice or drug pushing, etc, and therefore intentional subversion. Whatever consenting adults want to do with themselves or each other is up to them, IMHO. However I think it's silly to talk past people with traditional values. I sincerely hope it isn't 'a tell' to call them fascists for simply not wanting their kids exposed to hypersexuality, etc. We had that happen once in society already and it didn't end well for my people.
        • yieldcrv 43 minutes ago |
          I've started a project of saving some topics on social media across networks, specifically because people are out of touch about the contentious things other people see

          I haven't added these kinds of topics to the list but if there's interest I'll start

          • bluenomatterwho 38 minutes ago |
            this seems like it might be useful!
  • jmclnx 2 hours ago |
    >Enough porn is being consumed in some public libraries that they have had to adapt their computer policies.

    I laughed at this, this is 100% true. I have a relative who works at the town library, and she has seen many people (mostly older men) watching porn at the library. Some do not even hide it, anyone walking by can see what is going on on the screen.

    I found this surprising since she told me there is not much they can do. I thought about volunteering to block it, but I realized it would open up a whole can of bureaucratic worms.

  • polotics an hour ago |
    I was expecting statistics, eg. in minutes per year per head, maybe even with demographics, but the article has none of that.