Conservative US States found to be biggest porn consumers

[RolandJP]

http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20090228/981/tsc-conservative-us-states-found-to-be-b.html


Sat, Feb 28 04:00 PM

London, Feb 28 (ANI): When it comes to online pornography, American States with more number of people having conservative beliefs are the biggest consumers of illicit material on the web, according to a new study.

The nationwide study of anonymised credit-card receipts from a major online adult entertainment provider did not reveal much discord in consumption between states.

"When it comes to adult entertainment, it seems people are more the same than different," New Scientist magazine quoted Benjamin Edelman, at Harvard Business School, as saying.

But the study revealed that the States that did consume the most porn tended to be more conservative and religious than those with lower levels of consumption.

"Some of the people who are most outraged turn out to be consumers of the very things they claimed to be outraged by," said Edelman.

[Michael P]

I am Jack's utter lack of surprise.

[malephoenix]

I'm an Oklahoman (we're so conservative that I believe we're the only state that Obama didn't even win a section of), and I'm a Christian - so as both of those, I've gotta say that this doesn't surprise me at all.

I hate pornography, but I'm not going to pretend like I've never seen it. When I was in college - a Christian university, no less - the porn industry got 40 bucks of mine that I'll never get back. Ultimately, though, this just states the facts. It doesn't even touch on the reality behind the data. But then again, most studies are exactly that.

It's sort of like how so many religious folks cry out about homosexuality tearing the family down, and yet Christians and conservatives have almost the same number of divorces. All the attention goes to one item, while the core of the whole thing gets ignored. Meh.

[DonC]

Yeah, those who are against something are usually the ones doing it the most. Ask Ted Haggard.

[dingo]

To quote Iago the Parrot, "I'll have a heart attack and die of not-surprise".

[Grazzt]

It actually makes sense. I mean, if you're going to vilify sex, you're going to have less of it, and if you have less of it you need porn. Simple cause and effect.

[Omega Alpha]

I've never been so shocked in my life. I mean, who could have seen this one coming?

[Charles RB]

It actually makes sense. I mean, if you're going to vilify sex, you're going to have less of it, and if you have less of it you need porn. Simple cause and effect.

You have a persuasive theory.

Plus, of course, if porn is a hideous immoral wrongness, looking at it is going to be much more exciting.

[Sean Walsh]

...meanwhile, the liberals who proclaim to love sex of all kinds, with all genders & species intermingling and what not, are proven to be just a pack of cheapskate liars who themselves are obviously prudes.

:wink: :tongue:

[Michael P]

...meanwhile, the liberals who proclaim to love sex of all kinds, with all genders & species intermingling and what not, are proven to be just a pack of cheapskate liars who themselves are obviously prudes.

:wink: :tongue:

Or they have a more healthy attitude towards sex & porn, and tend less to become obsessive or addicted and overconsume.

That or they'll all in the porn industry and get lots of comps.

[howyadoin]

cheapskateYou keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means.

[Spike-X]

When I was in college - a Christian university, no less - the porn industry got 40 bucks of mine that I'll never get back.

I am truly, deeply shocked.






You actually paid for porn?

It's sort of like how so many religious folks cry out about homosexuality tearing the family down, and yet Christians and conservatives have almost the same number of divorces.

That's not true at all.

They have more. As well as more teen pregnancies, I believe.

[Reptisaurus!]

...meanwhile, the liberals who proclaim to love sex of all kinds, with all genders & species intermingling and what not, are proven to be just a pack of cheapskate liars who themselves are obviously prudes.


"species?" What the hell? OK, see, jokes are rooted in truth. In order to make the joke work, you can't stick in blatantly untruthful elements BEFORE the punchline, or you essentially have an unintended punchline before the punchline and the audience is completely confused and your joke crashes and burns. Because you're trying to make two jokes here, neither of them works, and the first (unfunny, BTW) joke takes all of the momentum out of the whole piece. (It took me months as a stand up comedian to learn this.)

Original post: Funny to note, sure, but correlation ain't causation. And this could be easily due to geography, say, or any of a hundred overlapping factors.

[J. Robb]

Yeah, those who are against something are usually the ones doing it the most. Ask Ted Haggard.
I was also completely not shocked by Strom Thurmond's secret black daughter.

The loudest protesters are always hiding something.

[Spike-X]

Wow, who knew there was only one way to tell a joke?

[Agent Helix]

"species?" What the hell? OK, see, jokes are rooted in truth. In order to make the joke work, you can't stick in blatantly untruthful elements BEFORE the punchline, or you essentially have an unintended punchline before the punchline and the audience is completely confused and your joke crashes and burns. Because you're trying to make two jokes here, neither of them works, and the first (unfunny, BTW) joke takes all of the momentum out of the whole piece. (It took me months as a stand up comedian to learn this.)

Original post: Funny to note, sure, but correlation ain't causation. And this could be easily due to geography, say, or any of a hundred overlapping factors.

Besides, who is it that's always fucking pigs and sheep? Rednecks.

And what way do rednecks vote?

[Winslow]

Original post: Funny to note, sure, but correlation ain't causation. And this could be easily due to geography, say, or any of a hundred overlapping factors.

True, I was gonna say that as well, since access to porn may be limited which makes one use the internet.

But then the statistic from one church-going state that indicated porn purchases drop on Sunday but then go back up during the rest of the week kind of convinced me otherwise ... (and made me chuckle a little ... )

[Winslow]

Besides, who is it that's always fucking pigs and sheep? Rednecks.

And what way do rednecks vote?

That's because they have access to pigs and sheep. The rest of us have to use the internet.

[Agent Helix]

I think I'd honestly respect a guy that's dick deep in Babe more than I respect somebody that masturbates to 4chan.

[Winslow]

I think I'd honestly respect a guy that's dick deep in Babe more than I respect somebody that masturbates to 4chan.

I have no idea what you're saying here, but I'm willing to learn.

Except NOT tomorrow, I'm going to church.

[Agent Helix]

If you're serious, I guess I'll just say this.

I mean, if you're messed up and are sexually attracted to animals, that's one thing. But when you go to parts of 4chan, there's shit in there that people had to fucking invent to get off to, and that blows my mind.

[Paradox]

Michael P nails it:

I am Jack's utter lack of surprise.

No kidding. This is somehow news? What next? Americans are the world's biggest cheeseburger consumers?

[howyadoin]

No kidding. This is somehow news? What next? Americans are the world's biggest cheeseburger consumers?In which sense of "biggest"?

[Paradox]

Yes. :tongue:

[Kevin M.]

Kind of expected to hear something like this.

[RolandJP]

I think I'd honestly respect a guy that's dick deep in Babe more than I respect somebody that masturbates to 4chan.

Come. Pig.


That'll do. That'll do.

http://www.freewebs.com/afghanz-movie/babe_pig_in_the_city_ver1.jpg

[Fenris]

So... he's checking porn consumption by state? Isn't that kind of a wide brush to be painting with?

Hm, here's (http://people.hbs.edu/bedelman/papers/redlightstates.pdf) the study. Edelman does go into more detail, as I'd hoped:

Standard demographic variables like income, age, and education seem to be associated with adult online subscriptions. For example, at mean values of other variables considered, a $1,000 increase in average household income in a zip code is associated with a 0.36 percent increase in subscriptions. As shown in column 3, subscriptions are particularly widespread where young people are prevalent. A 1 percent increase in residents aged 15–24 (as a proportion of zip code population) yields a 0.19 percent increase in subscriptions at this adult entertainment service. Conversely, the elderly are less likely to subscribe: a 1 percent increase in residents of age 65 or older (as a proportion of zip code population) yields a 0.13 percent reduction in subscriptions. When a zip code hosts a higher proportion of people with college degrees, that zip code has slightly more subscribers to these adult entertainment sites: a 1 percent increase in college graduates is associated with a 0.12 percent increase in subscribers. However, graduate degrees tend to cut in the opposite direction: 1 percent more graduate degrees yields 0.30 percent fewer subscriptions.

Even after holding constant income, age, and education, adult entertainment subscriptions are most prevalent in urban areas. Controlling for broadband, we see that subscriptions are 38 percent more prevalent in urban areas (1000 to 5000 people per square mile) than in rural areas (less than 40 people per square mile). However, interest tapers off at the highest levels of density: In high-density urban areas (more than 5000 people per square mile), subscriptions drop somewhat. Both marriage and divorce are associated with reductions in subscription to this adult entertainment service. A 1 percent increase in marriage rates is associated with a 0.65 percent decrease in subscription rates, while a 1 percent increase in divorce rates is associated with a 0.28 percent decrease in subscription rates.

So that's pretty interesting. The groups more likely to consume porn are:
1) Wealthy
2) Young
3) Urban
4) Single
5) College-educated. (Graduate degrees oddly excepted.)

And the groups that are less likely are:
1) Poor
2) Elderly
3) Rural
4) Married and/or divorced (again, odd!)
5) High school education or less.

Which group is demographically more likely to be conservative?

I don't see how this proves that conservatives use porn more than nonconservatives; it seems to suggest the exact opposite. Insorfar as it suggests anything: the margins of difference mostly appear to be pretty small.


The fourth column reports that in regions where more people report regularly attending religious services (per National Election Studies 2004), overall subscription rates are not statistically significantly different from subscriptions elsewhere (p  0.848). However, in such regions, a statistically significantly smaller proportion of subscriptions begin on Sundays, compared with other regions. In particular, a 1 percent increase in the proportion of people who report regularly attending religious services is associated with a 0.10 percent reduction in the proportion of purchases that occur on Sunday. This analysis suggests that, on the whole, those who attend religious services shift their consumption of adult entertainment to other days of the week, despite on average consuming the same amount of adult entertainment as others. (As an interesting comparison, Malhotra, 2008, finds that religious people are more charitable only on Sundays.)

Well, that's interesting, I guess. It is a shameful thing that religious people don't use less porn than than nonreligious people- though again, it's exactly opposite from saying that they use it more, which is the implication of the title, and of Edelman's own remarks.

I don't know what to make of that last sentence.


õ
But it gives people something to talk about!

[Paradox]

That last sentence is about the only worth I can find in the study at all. Yes, it's true. So what? Aside from a little extra demographics study for pornographers, there's really no point to this study.

[dingo]

Being able to quantify the level of hypocrisy in a group of people has uses if you're opposed to them.

[o1pickleboy]

So... he's checking porn consumption by state? Isn't that kind of a wide brush to be painting with?

Hm, here's (http://people.hbs.edu/bedelman/papers/redlightstates.pdf) the study. Edelman does go into more detail, as I'd hoped:

Standard demographic variables like income, age, and education seem to be associated with adult online subscriptions. For example, at mean values of other variables considered, a $1,000 increase in average household income in a zip code is associated with a 0.36 percent increase in subscriptions. As shown in column 3, subscriptions are particularly widespread where young people are prevalent. A 1 percent increase in residents aged 15–24 (as a proportion of zip code population) yields a 0.19 percent increase in subscriptions at this adult entertainment service. Conversely, the elderly are less likely to subscribe: a 1 percent increase in residents of age 65 or older (as a proportion of zip code population) yields a 0.13 percent reduction in subscriptions. When a zip code hosts a higher proportion of people with college degrees, that zip code has slightly more subscribers to these adult entertainment sites: a 1 percent increase in college graduates is associated with a 0.12 percent increase in subscribers. However, graduate degrees tend to cut in the opposite direction: 1 percent more graduate degrees yields 0.30 percent fewer subscriptions.

Even after holding constant income, age, and education, adult entertainment subscriptions are most prevalent in urban areas. Controlling for broadband, we see that subscriptions are 38 percent more prevalent in urban areas (1000 to 5000 people per square mile) than in rural areas (less than 40 people per square mile). However, interest tapers off at the highest levels of density: In high-density urban areas (more than 5000 people per square mile), subscriptions drop somewhat. Both marriage and divorce are associated with reductions in subscription to this adult entertainment service. A 1 percent increase in marriage rates is associated with a 0.65 percent decrease in subscription rates, while a 1 percent increase in divorce rates is associated with a 0.28 percent decrease in subscription rates.

So that's pretty interesting. The groups more likely to consume porn are:
1) Wealthy
2) Young
3) Urban
4) Single
5) College-educated. (Graduate degrees oddly excepted.)

And the groups that are less likely are:
1) Poor
2) Elderly
3) Rural
4) Married and/or divorced (again, odd!)
5) High school education or less.

Which group is demographically more likely to be conservative?

I don't see how this proves that conservatives use porn more than nonconservatives; it seems to suggest the exact opposite. Insorfar as it suggests anything: the margins of difference mostly appear to be pretty small.


The fourth column reports that in regions where more people report regularly attending religious services (per National Election Studies 2004), overall subscription rates are not statistically significantly different from subscriptions elsewhere (p 0.848). However, in such regions, a statistically significantly smaller proportion of subscriptions begin on Sundays, compared with other regions. In particular, a 1 percent increase in the proportion of people who report regularly attending religious services is associated with a 0.10 percent reduction in the proportion of purchases that occur on Sunday. This analysis suggests that, on the whole, those who attend religious services shift their consumption of adult entertainment to other days of the week, despite on average consuming the same amount of adult entertainment as others. (As an interesting comparison, Malhotra, 2008, finds that religious people are more charitable only on Sundays.)

Well, that's interesting, I guess. It is a shameful thing that religious people don't use less porn than than nonreligious people- though again, it's exactly opposite from saying that they use it more, which is the implication of the title, and of Edelman's own remarks.

I don't know what to make of that last sentence.


õ
But it gives people something to talk about!

Ok I am young and single, but I am high school educated and live in a rural area. I am middle class also.

So I am suppose to look at porn or what?

[Paradox]

dingo thinks so?:

Being able to quantify the level of hypocrisy in a group of people has uses if you're opposed to them.

Except it's useless for that, because they're lumping whole states together.

Unless you think whole states are hypocritical, and then have at it.

[dingo]

Except it's useless for that, because they're lumping whole states together.

Unless you think whole states are hypocritical, and then have at it.

I was referring to the reduced rate of subscriptions on Sunday in "in regions where more people report regularly attending religious services".

[o1pickleboy]

Except it's useless for that, because they're lumping whole states together.

Unless you think whole states are hypocritical, and then have at it.

I can think of at least one state.

[Paradox]

dingo tries and fails:

I was referring to the reduced rate of subscriptions on Sunday in "in regions where more people report regularly attending religious services".

I see no causal link to any hypocrisy there. You do know that there's no link between people who attend religious services and being anti-porn, don't you? Just because right wing nutbars attend services doesn't mean everyone who attends services believes like they do.

[dingo]

I see no causal link to any hypocrisy there. You do know that there's no link between people who attend religious services and being anti-porn, don't you? Just because right wing nutbars attend services doesn't mean everyone who attends services believes like they do.


I grant that it is entirely circumstantial. But to say the the whole study is pointless is unfair. At the least that would indicate a possible further avenue of study.

[Paradox]

Perhaps. On the other hand, I find doing a study of this nature to point out someone's hypocrisy to be fairly pointless in and of itself.

YMMV, of course.

[malephoenix]

That's not true at all.

They have more. As well as more teen pregnancies, I believe.

Re: Divorce.
Depends on the year. I haven't seen the actual data in over two years, and it has varied pretty widely in the two decades before that.


It actually makes sense. I mean, if you're going to vilify sex, you're going to have less of it, and if you have less of it you need porn. Simple cause and effect.

I couldn't tell how much of this was serious, joking, or what mixture of both.

But in general, the idea isn't "vilifying" sex. (Sure, some extremists do, but there are extremists in a lot of belief systems that do that.) The general idea is that sex is a great gift, and that gratification be from your spouse, but not from strangers on camera, extra-marital partners, or...um, "species."

[Spike-X]

You're right, conservatives don't vilify all sex.

Just any sex that falls outside of their own narrow definition of what is acceptable.

Not that other people's sex lives are any of their business in the first place, but try telling them that.

[The Black Guardian]

So I am suppose to look at porn or what?
The answer to that is yes, and it doesn't matter what you are.

[schwamp]

While I don't think it's that much of a stretch to accept the hypocrisy being suggested in the article, it is a relatively loose connection.

[OverMaster]

I mean, if you're messed up and are sexually attracted to animals, that's one thing. But when you go to parts of 4chan, there's shit in there that people had to fucking invent to get off to, and that blows my mind.

You go there every weekend, just admit it. :tongue:

[OverMaster]

Ok I am young and single, but I am high school educated and live in a rural area. I am middle class also.

So I am suppose to look at porn or what?

We *all* are supposed to be looking at porn! We are using the Internet!

Unless, of course, it involves Babe.

[Paradox]

Not even this one? :biggrin:

https://www.newkadia.com/Covers/L/B/Babe%201994%20series/babe1994series1.jpg

[OverMaster]

Not even this one? :biggrin:


Just to piss John Byrne off... No.

[Paradox]

You do make a good point... :wink:

[malephoenix]

You're right, conservatives don't vilify all sex.

Just any sex that falls outside of their own narrow definition of what is acceptable.

Not that other people's sex lives are any of their business in the first place, but try telling them that.

And, unfortunately, the very vocal minority will keep perpetuating that exact stereotype. I have no idea why; it doesn't help there cause or beliefs at all. But most really aren't like that.

[Tom]

While I agree that this study is relatively meaningless when taken on its own, it is somewhat useful when the results are paired with other studies that show, for instance, higher rates of divorce, teen pregnancy and abortion in red states.

[mikekerr3]

I was also completely not shocked by Strom Thurmond's secret black daughter.

The loudest protesters are always hiding something.

Even Shakespeare knew that

From Hamlet: "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

[Calybos]

Fox News, favored media channel of the morally righteous, is also owned by the Fox Cable Network, aka "Taste Gone Bad."

They know their audience.

[mgs]

yeah, this is an old relation going back to when they were able to confirm which people from where were purchasing the most porn from cable sales, and probably from before that.

BUT, in the relation of who has the most porn sales and all that, what this study does not do is say that other states are exactly abstinent about porn. Just wanted to clear that up.

[Ontir]

I have to ask, does the info in this thread's title REALLY surprise anyone?

Sure, there's not a whole lot of repression here in LA or California, where most of America's porn is made, and it's consumed here, but given the high population of the state and the openness to sex in general, one would think we'd outspend anywhere - except that repression leads to quiet, private expressions of forbidden sexuality.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

"species?" What the hell? OK, see, jokes are rooted in truth. In order to make the joke work, you can't stick in blatantly untruthful elements BEFORE the punchline, or you essentially have an unintended punchline before the punchline and the audience is completely confused and your joke crashes and burns. Because you're trying to make two jokes here, neither of them works, and the first (unfunny, BTW) joke takes all of the momentum out of the whole piece. (It took me months as a stand up comedian to learn this.)

Are you serious with this post?

One of the more pretentious things I've ever seen written on CBR, and from someone who should know better...

Shame on you, shame on you.

[Michael P]

I have to ask, does the info in this thread's title REALLY surprise anyone?

Sure, there's not a whole lot of repression here in LA or California, where most of America's porn is made, and it's consumed here, but given the high population of the state and the openness to sex in general, one would think we'd outspend anywhere - except that repression leads to quiet, private expressions of forbidden sexuality.

Or loud, public expressions of violence.

[malephoenix]

except that repression leads to quiet, private expressions of forbidden sexuality.

Or loud, public expressions of violence.

I personally know too many people where neither of these is the case.

[Agent Helix]

How do you really know about the former? I mean, that's sort of what "private" means.

[malephoenix]

How do you really know about the former? I mean, that's sort of what "private" means.

It's what full accountability is all about. I mean, considering what else we've been dealing with, lying/omitting this just doesn't serve anything.

[Suzanne]

Who knows, maybe next we'll learn that the reddest of red states have the highest percentages of inbred marriages than other states :eek:

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

Who knows, maybe next we'll learn that the reddest of red states have the highest percentages of inbred marriages than other states :eek:

Or that people in blue states don't have as interesting sex lives as they want to believe.

[Ontir]

I personally know too many people where neither of these is the case.

Of course there's Victorian Britain, to counter your argument.

Even now, Jackie Collins has said that she only writes about American men, because they, unlike British men like straight on sex, as opposed to bondage/flogging/humiliation, etc.

[Charles RB]

Suddenly I'm proud to be British.

[RolandJP]

English woman, do enjoy a good spank.

[StoneGold]

English woman, do enjoy a good spank.

And a little erotic asphyxiation never hurt anyone, other than Michael Hutchens and all the other people it's killed.