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I read this article recently and found it simultaneously thought-provoking and disturbing and I wanted to get a few more opinions on the matter. Please read the article before posting your thoughts. Some of the comments are (surprisingly) worth taking into consideration as well.

As for myself, I think that pornography is an inherently bad thing for many reasons (exploitation of those involved in its production, the cause for the viewer to withdraw from interaction with the opposite sex, and the general breakdown of interpersonal relationships as a result of pornography addiction being chief among them), but as a lifelong gamer I have a lot of difficulty saying my favored hobby is an inherent moral evil. I do understand the notion that excessive gaming reduces one's participation in essential formative activities that help boys mature, but a the same time, again, I see it as a benevolent hobby: especially for people crippled with advanced social anxiety or other neurological disorders.

Like I said, I'm really conflicted about this one. Thoughts?

No.

This is just another by-the-book moral panic. Literally every generation has believed that new technology and sex were perverting the youth, and literally every generation has been wrong. Remember when Socrates said that writing would destroy oral communication and render everyone incapable of remembering things? That certainly never came to pass.

"exploitation of those involved"

Dude, this isn't the 70s anymore. Porn is out in the open. It's mostly produced by either huge-ass (at least relative to what came before) corporations or independents who are making it literally because they like to. There are laws in place.
Now does that mean that exploitation NEVER happens anymore? Of course not. Because bad shit is going to happen with literally anything in existence, no matter how hard we try.

{ It’s mostly produced by either huge-ass (at least relative to what came before) corporations }

uhh that's not even kind of true. "The majority of porn with a plot filmed in first world countries" maybe. Are you watching the kind of porn you have to go to an adult store and pay for? Or are you watching whatever you can find online for free?

There's nothing wrong with pornography. There is, however, a lot wrong with the pornography industry – sleazy, underhanded, and sexist. You know all those porn bots you see on Tumblr? Those exist so porn site owners can get high search results. So while I hate the porn industry and a lot of those involved in it, there's nothing wrong with it as long as you're not watching it 24/7.

If porn ever was going to cripple young men, society would have ended thousands of years ago.

Pornography has beeen around forever, even pre-internet people would just go out and find discarded magazines in places, like pokemon go but for porn. As cor video games crippling young men, maybe we aught to look at youth sports which literally left many young men crippled due to broken bones and torn muscles.

@0.999

I'm talking about the majority of pornography that comes from "amateur" sources, especially in South/Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, where the production thereof is highly bound up in crime, especially human trafficking. By comparison, the "studio" system in the USA involves much fewer people.

As a general response, while such material has been around for practically forever, the Internet has brought an unprecedented kind of accessibility: whereas before one had to exert some effort to acquire pornographic material (i.e. travel to a vending location and interact with a person selling the material), now one can access the material in relative anonymity, thereby allowing them to engage in the behavior while limiting its social stigmas. Furthermore, the internet allows access to a wider range of materials. The article's argument is that whereas pornography was in the past a service/product that required visible, public effort to obtain it is now facilitates further isolation.

As for videogames, I completely agree with sentiments expressed here (Black Graphic T's point about sports like American football causing a lot of irreparable physical trauma is both very true and something I hadn't considered before), I'd really like to hear some of the reasoning behind it. Is there something philosophically disturbing to anyone here about the idea of videogames compared to traditional games, for example that it is an activity done in isolation?

I honestly haven't looked at enough research to make a sound judgement on this, but I will say that living exclusively for entertainment is a surefire way to destroy yourself in terms of mental and physical health, creativity, social skills, ambition, spirituality, and professionalism. Whether or not that is becoming more common and what is causing it, I won't pretend to know.

Anything in excess is crippling.

All good things in moderation.

As cor video games crippling young men, maybe we aught to look at youth sports which literally left many young men crippled due to broken bones and torn muscles.

Don't forget head injuries. Of course many will argue that those sort of things build 'character'.

I feel like this has happened to my brother sometimes but I don't really think it's video games and porn that did it. I think he just feels like there's nothing out there in the world for him, and if it wasn't for video games and porn I imagine he just would have become engrossed with similar hobbies.

Including moderation.

Everything on extreme excess is bad. Literally everything, and porn is no exception. Addiction is something that can happen, but it's definitely overblown by the media.

Also, pornography, often professionally made can usually give a bad idea of what sex is to someone who has zero clue (kids). But to anyone aware, there's really no issue.

This whole conversation reminds me of the Me!Me!Me! video that was popular a while back. For those who don't know it was made for a Japanese animation expo and it was meant to show the dangers of excessive porn/anime/internet etc. consumption and what it can do to relationships. I think it hit the nail on the head pretty well but unfortunately I can't link it here because it's somewhat pornographic in nature. You can find it pretty easily on vimeo though.

If porn was gonna kill off sex, then it would have done so. It is one of the biggest industries and Women participate and consume just as much as men do.

This just sounds like a lot of fear mongering. Especially when he describes that what we need is an "Strong Christian man image".

Now if you want to know why men might not be willing to search out for a romantic partner. It is probably because of the rise of information. Men see how the court system fucks them over in the end. They see these feminists demonizing them at every turn no matter what they do. Actual Dating is harsh and difficult and likely will continue to get more difficult and harsh as this SJW tirade goes on.

I remember that music video. It was a pretty good song too (the musician is known for doing the soundtrack of Panty and Stocking) and there was tons of speculation on what the song was about until someone translated it.

On topic, no matter how you put it blaming certain kinds of media for problems in the world is plain scapegoating. Saying pornography is lowering rates of communication is bollocks. I talk to plenty of people, women included, from porn (specifically hentai) sites. Not to mention that for those who don't like traditionally dating, matchmaking sites are all the rage. People don't talk as much in person because the internet makes it so we don't have to talk in person.

As for video games, there really isn't much differentiating it from other forms of entertainment other than the interactive part. Reading books is an anti-social thing, and while there are some books that can expand your mind there are also ones that what my old tutor referred to as "mental masturbation" i.e. schlock like Twilight. Drawing can be considered anti-social at times too.

So I think there are a ton of great points being made in this thread and it makes me feel a lot less self-conscious/anxious about my chosen hobby, so thanks for that.

I was just thinking about the root of the problem, which Iamslow alluded to, which I think is that the "crisis in American masculinity" is a nearly continuous issue that has plagued us since the mid 19th century: if you google "crisis in American masculinity," you will get an article about an issue that was discussed nearly two hundred years ago.

I think it comes with the double-edged sword of self-government in the USA: on the one hand, you're not locked into a caste where tradition tells you what to do; on the other hand, your control over your own fate doesn't give you a lot of direction in life. What's the difference between drowning yourself in videogames and pornography vs drowning yourself in gambling and alcohol?

It comes down to an existential problem that has more to do with a lack of direction than anything else.

Like a lot of people said, moderation is key. But I also think that whether it be porn, video games, alcohol, whatever the "fix" is, it's that a lot of these young people are just given these luxuries on a silver platter. Their mum bought them this video game and let's him play it as much as they want. Why would they do anything else?

One of the key things to preventing a crippling addiction is not to fuel it, but force people to get the fuel for themselves, so to speak. For kids, it could be making them have to do homework before gaming, or at least force them to do homework while gaming. It's not rigidly denying them, because that will just make their release even better, it's making sure they balance on top of what they enjoy. It can cause people to do things like get a job, so they can actually buy things they want. They might make a friend at work and get more social.

I also think a lot of it is honestly to do with variety of activities and discovering what you like, what you dislike, and the ones in which you can make an impact on (e.g if you are a fanatical gamer, and your also skillful or knowledgeable, you could get a gaming related job that could take you to new places). A combination of media, sports, work and other parts about your life is much healthier for the mind and body.

From the article:

At a time when our culture desperately needs bold and compassionate models of Christian masculinity.

I thought the purpose was to prevent people from self loathing.

On an unrelated note, While I don't find pornography immoral[as long as your not doing it 24/7 and or in public] generally like most people here, I do have these personal beliefs:

While I wouldn't exactly consider myself an at least full-on socialist, I think pornography in itself should be socialized, I generally don't find it moral to sell sex in spite of it. So [while sure, they run on ads] Websites though kinda neckbearded & fetishy, like Rule 34 & E621 Are the future of porn in my eyes.

Another thing is that, sure, call me a feminist, but I think we should have an equal amount of male porn as female porn, I think both genders are generally equal these days, but I think this really should be a thing.

Maybe both of these things are already things and I'm just a teen that doesn't look up enough news, but just personal beliefs of mine.