A Thought for the Future of Pornography

[TheBadger]

Hey guys,
I have been thinking recently about the future of porn addiction and how it will be dealt with. My personal opinion, is that this epidemic can be strongly linked with the tobacco industry. For example, doctors used to recommend cigarettes to clear up peoples breathing issues, comparatively, sexologists and therapists now recommend porn as a way for people to deal with boredom in the bedroom.
The other comparison is that the tobacco industry has not been shut and can't be. After decades of research and proof that smoking is terrible for people, the industry is just too large and wealthy (although this is receding). Furthermore, there is also the aspect of free-will that people have the choice to watch porn just as they have the choice to smoke. The difference being that smokers know what they are doing is bad for them- porn viewers often have no idea of what they are getting into.

The Idea

By no means is this a cure but more a way of delaying more people suffering from a condition that so many of us already do. I genuinely fear for the next generation when they come into their late teens and early 20's as i'm sure the numbers will be staggering. My thoughts were that once porn addiction and all the related problems are accepted by the medical world then the porn industry will have similar sanctions placed upon it as the tobacco companies do now. Just like on cigarettes with the messages and pictures which are used to discourage smoking. I am curious as to whether tubes site will ever be legally required to have 20 second adverts or so before each clip, these ads would explain the potential effects that porn can have on people. I will just confirm that it is peoples own choice to watch porn and its up to them, however, it would be great if the general population was able to make an informed decision.

There are two main reasons for this:

1. Obviously if people know about the problems they may encounter from watching porn then they will be able to decide they if they don't want to watch it or if its worth the risk.

2. This is more of a subtle effect which requires a bit of detail- by putting 20 second adverts into porn, the endless novelty of searching, clicking and watching would be broken up as viewers are forced to watch the advert. This could help slow the progression of people encountering porn induced problems as instead of having permanently raised dopamine levels- dopamine concentration would fall and rise- in my opinion this would lessen the effects of porn addiction.

I know there is millions of obvious holes in this idea but I would like to know what people think,


JohnDoe6

 

[sender]

My biggest problem with your idea is that it won't work for kids - they don't have enough sense to make an informed choice, even with a warning video.  In fact, a warning video might clue them into the fact that their onto something really juicy and get them even more excited about it...

It's the kids we have to worry about - they are the next wave of life-long customers the porn industry is counting on for the future of their business.  That's how consumer product businesses think...

The biggest problem we face right now is the fact that there is no requirement legally or otherwise to restrict access to porn whatsoever.  It's opt-out, which means it's on every internet connected device by default, only a click away to get to see hardcore porn instantly for free, no matter who is doing the clicking.  Instead, at a minimum, it should be opt-in, meaning that you should have to do something specific to activate the porn - to indicate that you are in fact choosing porn.  Then, of course, there should be a requirement (like there is with selling cigarettes and alcohol) that the person receiving the product is of at least the minimum age.  This will be addressed eventually.  I would be interested running a pool to see who can guess the closest date when it actually happens

I like the cigarette analogy; I've used it myself a number of times.  Not long ago, it used to be legal to smoke in public areas like restaurants.  But eventually, the awareness of the health risks of secondary smoke inhalation reached a point where legal action brought that to an end.  The parallel here would be that right now, the internet is like a smoke-filled restaurant where everyone who enters is exposed to the smoke whether or not they chose to personally consume cigarettes.  Some people choose to smoke, but everyone is exposed.  You can go there if you wish, but you can't get rid of the smoke.  Porn on the internet is just like that.  We need to make it more selective so that the people who want the porn can get it without exposing everyone else to it (and its associated risks) regardless of whether or not they chose to see it.

You will hear arguments from people stating first amendment rights, blah blah blah.  But those rights are not absolute - they are only valid if they don't infringe upon other rights.  They argue because, even though they know deep down that it's wrong, they don't want anyone to interfere with their access to their drug, or to make said access even a little bit inconvenient.  They are selfish.  Remember the smokers who got outraged at being asked to go outside to smoke instead of blowing it in everyone's faces?  Same attitude, different drug...

 

[TheBadger]

Nice post and some good points. In the future they need to find a way to get children off of pornography and blocked from viewing it. After 18 they can do as they like but with an informed choice about the consequences of porn addiction. The difference you could make better porn and smoking is that smoking is often branded as 'cool' whereas watching porn and getting sexual dysfunctions functions isn't going to be as popular so kids might make the right choice. I don't think porn will ever be fully removed but in the next 10-20 years viewing will begin to recede if it hasn't already.