Porn: The Invention That Changed the World
All my life, there has always been a taboo surrounding the topic of pornography, perhaps as a result of my personal beliefs or my upbringing in a small, suburban town. Nonetheless, hot-button topics, like sex education and sexual freedom, have become increasingly popular in the media. Over the last decade, the internet has come a long way — and with it, so has porn. In 2001, around 70,000 adult websites circulated the internet. In 2010, PornHub reported a 1,424% hike in mobile traffic and by 2019, the site boasted 42 billion visits with over 115 million visits per day. I mean, damn.
The 4 A’s of Pornography
Since the early 2000s, it’s inarguable that the advancement of technology has been instrumental in creating the beast that is the porn industry… but just how big of a role did technology really play?
Accessibility: Decades prior, pornography was primarily accessed through magazines, literature and movies. As a result, consumers had to visit shady cinemas and storefronts, hence risking the chance of running into a colleague or being spotted in an awkward situation. A particular magazine, Playboy, comes to mind; it featured nude pictorials of beautiful women and sold over 7.16 million copies in 1972, subsequently igniting America’s sexual awakening. Today, porn is consumed in a private space across various devices, including desktops and mobile phones. In 2019, Pornhub reported that 84% of worldwide traffic was conducted on mobile devices, with the use of tablets and laptops decreasing by 17% and 18%, respectively.
Affordability: A vast amount of pornographic material is free. In fact, it’s interesting to put a label on “porn” because we live in such a sexualized society that celebrates sexually explicit content. At a young age, we’re exposed to this genre through TV shows, films, advertisements and music videos, among many others. For instance, the 2015 release of Fifty Shades of Grey generated over US$570 million worldwide, a film that highlighted the erotic, BDSM relationship between a billionaire CEO and a University student. Generations ago, this would’ve caused a widespread panic. Today, it’s a box office hit and it’s available on Netflix… right next to children cartoons and informative documentaries.
Anonymity: With the Internet readily at our fingertips, porn no longer entails any physical contact with a vendor or potential run-ins with the wrong person. In the past, the greatest deterrent to a user was being discovered in a compromising situation. Due to this risk, the exposure to porn was intermittent and sparse. Nowadays, things have changed. Users can log on anonymously for any duration in total secrecy, hence removing the excitement of sporadic moments and driving the need for more and more content to be satisfied.
Aggression: As we know, sex sells — but it turns out that so does sexual aggression, dehumanization and female objectification. Digital advancements have enabled easy accessibility, affordability and anonymity for users, allowing them to fantasize in secrecy and aggressively satisfy their desires. This further exacerbates the over-sexualization of our society and normalizes the appearance of violent themes, including rape, torture and incest. In fact, a study was conducted based on 300 selected videos and revealed that 88% featured an extent of physical aggression towards women, including spanking, slapping or gagging. It’s evident that the exploitation of views is the first priority to production companies.
Repercussions of a “Pornified” Society
Although the digitalization of the industry has created immense benefits for its consumer base, perhaps its unconscious grasp on society has created a detrimental path for the generations to follow. Easy accessibility and the removal of public deterrents has allowed users to become addicted. Fast. It also introduced the idea of fetishes and normalized sexual behaviours at an early age, which incites a cycle of desensitization where a user habituates to a degree of extremity and requires more content to remain satisfied. According to the UK Parliamentary Inquiry into Online Child Protection, early exposure to porn will stimulate negative perceptions towards sex, relationships and body positivity. It is proven to desensitize younger audiences to sexual aggression and reduce their empathy towards sexual assault victims. This is dangerous because we’re shifting the values and actions of our society — without even realizing it.
In recent news, a petition on Change.org has garnered over half a million signatures with the purpose of shutting down Pornhub, the largest porn platform on the Internet. It was inspired by a heartbreaking story about a 15-year old girl who was kidnapped and sex trafficked for over a year; her mother discovered her whereabouts after 58 videos of rape were posted onto the platform, many of which featured her abuser. Anonymity isn’t an exclusive perk — although users’ identities are protected, so are those of predators. To make matters worse, in order to maximize the amount of content that is pushed out, Pornhub does not verify the age or consent of any porn performers. This has created a digital loophole for anonymous traffickers and untraceable criminal activity.
This new wave of adult actors are no longer fantasy objects behind a screen, but active influencers on social media. They communicate directly with their fans and share the quirks of their lives, outside of work. As well, they’re frequently interviewed by mainstream media to provide an insight about the reality of being a porn star. According to Pornhub’s 2019 Year in Review, the most searched female performers of the year were Lana Rhoades, Mia Khalifa and Riley Reid. All 3 women interact directly with their individual fanbases, and have amassed a whopping 8.2 million, 19.1 million and 1.8 million followers on Instagram, respectively. Pictured above is Reid’s latest Instagram post which garnered over half a million likes.
The Future of Pornography
Today’s porn industry has spillovers in licensing, education, video streaming and instant messaging. There are high-profile industry events, talent agents for performers and lobbyists across the nation.
Although today’s content has become significantly more graphic, it just wasn’t enough for America. The audience wanted to feel the action, hungry for emerging technologies that further blur the line between the screen and the bedroom. Enter Glance, an application on Google Glass that allows users to partake in sexual activity while seeing themselves from their partner’s point of view. Users can record from multiple angles by connecting their mobile devices to Google’s technology and can save video recordings to rewatch them at a later time. It also allows users to dim the lights and control their playlists throughout the experience. Cheekily, the recording is activated by saying, “OK Glass, it’s time to start”, and disconnected by saying, “OK Glass, pull out”.
Lastly, the introduction of virtual reality porn has been toyed with for several years, though it hasn’t quite piqued the interest of the mainstream crowd. It removes the barrier between the user and the fantasy, allowing them to be fully immersed in the experience. In fact, it seeks to provide the one thing that porn cannot: Intimacy. In an attempt to replace human contact with technology, are we connecting or disconnecting as a society?
All in all, there’s no doubt that the digitalization of porn has become an important piece of our cultural phenomenon — and it shows no sign of slowing down. As we celebrate the benefits of technology, it’s equally important to weigh the downside, and consider the possibility that it could be causing more harm than good for society as a whole.
