

Virtual reality porn and the future of loneliness - Devolver
http://techcrunch.com/2015/07/11/virtual-reality-porn-and-the-future-of-loneliness/

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dkopi
The whole "porn = loneliness" equation is really getting old. People with sex
lives watch porn. People in relationships watch porn. Females watch porn.
Couples watch porn together. Couples make porn together.

Masturbation is natural, normal and healthy, and it's about time we stop the
false "watches porn = lonely loser" equation.

~~~
minthd
I don't know. It's like we're running a giant experiment on everybody, using
powerful digital technologies , without even a safe process for estimating and
controlling the risks and optimizing for positives.

And we do this without even achieving a scientific consensus on regular
pornography and it's impact - without even understanding the results of the
previous technology, if any. Maybe we should understand that before?

~~~
phn
Life itself is a giant experiment for which no-one really knows the answer to.

I am pretty much for being open and accepting of our own humanity (desires,
flaws, quirks), without tabooing the fuck out of everything and trying to
control what other individuals think and do with themselves. Education,
information, critical thinking and a sharp change of culture into acceptance
is what I think we need, not a "safe process".

~~~
minthd
>> Education, information, critical thinking and a sharp change of culture
into acceptance is what I think we need,

Just out of curiosity , would you apply similar rules to hard drugs ? Are the
any limits to your approach , places where a slower process that tries to
minimize risks, should be applied ?

~~~
phn
I'd apply the same logic to hard drugs, with emphasis in treatment, not
criminalization, if you develop addiction or other problem. I think a big
chink of the drug problem is the alienation it creates, in part due to being
illegal and a taboo. If it's just something you can do, it probably loses half
the appeal, and information about its risks and intricacies are probably more
generally available.

I emphasize critical thinking, so yeah I think there are limits to my
approach, especially when it concerns other people more directly (e.g. hurting
others is not ok).

Process is generally warranted as well when a large group of people have to
interact directly and the consequences are more fatal, such as traffic. In
fact, I am pretty much for there being processes, not necessarily for
minimizing risks, but to reduce conflict in a functioning society. What I
don't like, I guess, is micro-managing daily behavior of people without a
_very_ good reason.

EDIT: I also think process should be revised constantly for an evolving
society, again, with an emphasis in acceptance and critical thinking, not just
accepting the status quo. The last thing we need is 18th century law causing
problems today.

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polarix
Well!

> For most people (the asexual population and the abstaining Japanese youth
> notwithstanding), sex with another person, especially in the context of
> meaningful intimacy, is a source of joy.

> Watching porn by yourself all the time, although physically stimulating, is
> spiritually the opposite of this.

Participating in autosexual intercourse can absolutely be both meaningful and
a powerful source of joy. It consists in the appreciation of one's own body,
mind, and spirit as a full and complete flowering of the universe. Consensual
sensory experiences allow that being to approach its own devotion fully.

On a less metaphysical note, this is really a marvelous denouement to the
sexual brinksmanship that's infested society over the past few millenia.

From an individual perspective, I love having sex with myself. When partners I
find attractive want to share, so much the better. It's not as much fun trying
to convince them to, though, that part pretty much sucks, and this provides
the best BATNA ever in that negotiation.

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leoc
> It’s not difficult to imagine a future where a cohort of the male population
> — especially those who have trouble connecting with members of their
> preferred sex — sits at home many nights with the Oculus Rift strapped to
> their heads, living out their sexual fantasies in VR, having their
> psychology further shaped and distorted by the persistent absence of
> connection with real life people. Regardless, the future of porn is here,
> and it is fucking intense.

There's already a hit song about basically this. From 1979.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF4Z6smOrZw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF4Z6smOrZw)
Also related: this film from 1973
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westworld](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westworld)
.

~~~
jimhefferon
I teach in a college. our challenges are four: pot, porn, poker, and
playstation. This combines porn and playstation. I fear they will next find a
way to bring in pot. That'll be a problem.

~~~
anigbrowl
Surely anyone who is wasting time on porn and/or Playstation is capable of
smoking pot at the same time. I'm not sure why you think this would require
some sort of tie-in at the production end.

~~~
icebraining
Just make a VR version of strip poker and you can have all four!

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amelius
My favorite explanation for the Fermi paradox [1]: we're not seeing any alien
life because they have figured out a way to entertain themselves which is far
more appealing than searching for ET life forms.

Anyway, before embarking on regular VR sessions with pr0n, see this video
first [2]

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox)

[2]
[http://www.ted.com/talks/zimchallenge](http://www.ted.com/talks/zimchallenge)

~~~
peddamat
Relevant SMBC: [http://www.smbc-
comics.com/comics/20131122.png](http://www.smbc-
comics.com/comics/20131122.png)

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Taek
Our culture (at least in America) is poorly equipped to deal with the sexual
freedoms that technology is increasingly granting. Porn is definitely a
problem and a source of loneliness for many, but just like video games, its
not the technology itself that is the problem.

~~~
polarix
I presume you don't intend to suggest that the _freedom_ is the problem? I
would propose we attempt to fix the stifling antisexuality of everyday social
life, rather than the newfound capacity to meet bodily desires individually.

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lmm
[http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=73799908&postcoun...](http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=73799908&postcount=309)
is perhaps relevant. (Japan a couple of years ahead as always?)

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thisjepisje
"This new technology is totally gonna make everyone lonely and messed up!"

~~~
Devolver
Definitely not what I was saying.

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Fjolsvith
"As Mike Kovalsky said at the end of our interview, “We really believe that
virtual reality will drive the relationships between humans in the next
years.”"

More like _divide_ the relationships between humans.

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BadassFractal
On one hand I'm ok with more and more dudes being taken out of the game
because they're too busy fapping to increasingly more realistic pornography.
At the same time, it's not obvious that the kind of men that are happy to
fully migrate their sexual needs to VR porn weren't already out of the dating
pool in the first place. They likely were already consuming regular porn as
surrogate for their sexual lives.

On the other hand, I realize that women aren't going to sit still, and they're
probably going to have to adapt to this new world, meaning they'll possibly
follow along and slowly dating might become mostly virtual.

~~~
digi_owl
That depends on them being interest at all.

As an Norwegian i came upon an article a year or two ago, based on book by a
social scientist that had found that the Norwegian family was changing.

As the female part of the population has gained more equal economic terms, a
pattern had emerged where a single "stud" man was being passed around from
woman to woman. Once she found herself pregnant he was shown the door.

