
Micro-targeted digital porn is changing human sexuality - jseliger
https://aeon.co/essays/micro-targeted-digital-porn-is-changing-human-sexuality
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Tenoke
I am not convinced their interpretation of how market forces work is
definitely right, but this rings true:

>The pursuit of the most rabidly loyal audience has already driven political
websites and talk radio to polarising extremes, with vast societal
implications. Fearing similar outcomes in the world of pornography and
sexuality is not entirely outlandish.

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Roritharr
This is something which I often contemplate but rarely but into words for fear
of being misunderstood.

Is it people which were without the Internet unable to develop their character
fully, or is it the Internet that changes the people?

Were Otherkin a normal phenomenon, or is it something that exposure to the
Internet does to some people? Same with all kinds of fetishes, especially
Haskell.

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ggggtez
Of course otherkin already existed. They just would have not had community
that connected them. People have felt connected to spirit animals and all
sorts of things. Dragons may not exist but they are part of the Chinese
zodiac, and I'm sure plenty of people considered the idea of being possessed
by ghosts or demons real. Perhaps there just was to much societal pressure to
prevent people from displaying casual interest before the internet.

~~~
adrusi
_People have felt connected to spirit animals and all sorts of things._

If that's how you define otherkin then it's pretty obvious it's been around
forever, but "otherkin" also refers to the tribe that has formed around that
idea online. It refers to the interpretation of what that animal connection
means, and to the dogma around it. Otherkin frame their condition in much the
same way as transgender people do, and that's a very contemporary way of
understanding psychology, and also a way that many people a disturbed by. The
question is: would otherkin have arrived at that same interpretation, and the
same dogma, without the interent. I think probably not, because it would take
so long for those ideas to spread that they would be outdated long before they
achieved universality.

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posterboy
> Otherkin frame their condition in much the same way as transgender people
> do, and that's a very contemporary way of understanding psychology

So, was transgenderkin a thing 50 years ago? I guess, but at least they knew
it was a joke, most of the time, when they weren't send to therapy.

> The question is: would otherkin have arrived at that same interpretation,
> and the same dogma, without the interent

That's like asking if multiplayer games would have arrived at the same
popularity without the internet

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mmierz
I really don't buy the author's contention that "normal" people are likely to
become diaper fetishists just because a diaper porn clip popped up on a
website.

More plausible situation: people who were kinky-but-didn't-know-it or kinky-
but-too-ashamed-to-tell-anyone are becoming plain kinky thanks to exposure to
their kinks on the internet.

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nialo
I notice my preferences tending slowly towards more 'extreme' versions of a
particular set of kinks over time. I suspect, but obviously cannot prove, that
this would happen even more slowly if the porn for those tightly targeted more
extreme versions wasn't easily available online.

I don't think this is a problem exactly, and I'd guess it's a small effect,
but I think there certainly is _some_ effect.

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guard-of-terra
In my opinion, the overall quality of offering on tube sites is poor. There
are hidden gems, there's a limited number of them and they aren't promoted or
discovered in any way. Ratings system is useless that way.

Instead we're seeing this fetish obsession, which fills tops with videos which
cater only to a subset and are still boring.

What most videos lack is passion and talent. Fetishes are an attempt to
substitute passion and talent.

> No adult online content provider is going to go belly-up showing young women
> having sex

Actually, no. This stuff never gets old if done right. Anything else does.

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adrusi
I think that seeing fetish content in porn easily translates to sexual
stimulation, in a way that passion and nuance just don't. What turns you on
while you watch sex might be very different from what turns you on while you
participate in it.

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ggggtez
Tldr: ew porn is icky. Is Anal Prolapse the new missionary?

