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Americans are having less sex and researchers are blaming Netflix

fortune.com

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Re: Americans are having less sex and researchers are blaming Netflix

#31

Post by coldtea »

mamon wrote: post #12
insickness wrote: post #8

I would attribute it more the glut of free online porn than netflix. Men consume porn far more than women because men are more visually stimulated than women. This has been verified by numerous scientific studies. In many ways, women can't compete with porn. Hundreds of years ago, the average man would be delighted to get sex from the average woman in his local community. Through porn, your average guy has seen more…

>> "videos of the the most physically attractive women imaginable" Is it just me, or are most of the porn stars really just little above average, when it comes to looks? Like 7/10? The women that I would call "most attractive women imaginable" are all regular movie/pop stars, not porn stars.

If you have seen them with proper clothing and make-up in proper movies, most of them would not have much, if anything, to make them less attractive than regular movie/pop stars. The packaging context and presentation matters, and having them sing/play roles in Hollywood movies, creates all kinds of secondary attractiveness factors related to the content and presentation (as opposed to the merits of the person).

The opposite is also true. There are teens who believe e.g. that Jennifer Lawrence is a crazily attractive girl, whereas one could argue there are several just as, or even prettier, ones, in their high school. It's the added myth, styling, and exposure that's shoved in their minds that elevates her. (And similarly for male actors). Of course there's the occasional Errol Flynn or Brad Pitt, or Ingrid Bergman or Margot Robbie - but most of them are elevated ordinary people + Hollywood allure.

Re: Americans are having less sex and researchers are blaming Netflix

#32

Post by coldtea »

louisswiss wrote: post #30
acd wrote: post #19

I think that the researchers are on to something broader. The research shows that smart device use lessens sex. Japan for example has early high technology usage and high suicide rates but low birth rates. Does devices with entertainment substitute getting together with your partner and friends?

Repeat after me - correlation does not imply causation

It merely doesn't prove causation. But it does imply it (as in: hints there might be one), and it's necessary for causation to exist.

Any causation mechanism will also have a correlation in its base.

Re: Americans are having less sex and researchers are blaming Netflix

#33

Post by [deleted] »

dEnigma wrote: post #24
throwawaymonkie wrote: post #16

I worry that #metoo also scares men of from approaching women?

If those men think groping is part of "approaching women", then I sure hope #metoo scares them off. edit: Seems like #metoo might also apply to purely verbal "offenses". I'm not quite in the loop on this, so I'll tread carefully here and not express an opinion.

[deleted]

Re: Americans are having less sex and researchers are blaming Netflix

#34

Post by throwawaymonkie »

dEnigma wrote: post #24
throwawaymonkie wrote: post #16

I worry that #metoo also scares men of from approaching women?

If those men think groping is part of "approaching women", then I sure hope #metoo scares them off. edit: Seems like #metoo might also apply to purely verbal "offenses". I'm not quite in the loop on this, so I'll tread carefully here and not express an opinion.

There are plenty of accusations on Twitter from women that being asked out is sexual abuse.

You can be fired just because a female misunderstands what you say: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye4fAZTkvNg

There are plenty of false rape allegations. Here's a particular egregious example: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4818874/Jemma-Beale-...

Re: Americans are having less sex and researchers are blaming Netflix

#35

Post by louisswiss »

coldtea wrote: post #32
louisswiss wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Repeat after me - correlation does not imply causation

It merely doesn't prove causation. But it does imply it (as in: hints there might be one), and it's necessary for causation to exist. Any causation mechanism will also have a correlation in its base.

True - in logic/philosophy, implies means a sufficient basis for so it is just a semantic problem. I wouldn't say that a result can be necessary for a cause though, that is dangerously circular.

Re: Americans are having less sex and researchers are blaming Netflix

#36

Post by bostik »

To sum up and to thrown an idea up in the air:

There has been a decline in sex over the past decade. It can't be purely coincidental that while the world became witness to a depressing depression, people are having less sex. After all, depression is often linked to reduced libido... and if you're constantly stressed out over your (and your family's) future, you might not have enough energy to enjoy sex either, which in turn can form a negative feedback loop.

Welcome to the brand new (joyless) world.

Re: Americans are having less sex and researchers are blaming Netflix

#37

Post by throwawaymonkie »

On Hacker News it's totally fine to blame men: "It's men that watch to much porn".

If you on the other hand suggest that maybe #metoo, unfair divorce court etc. has something to do with it (meaning maybe woman are also part of the issue), you get flagged or downvoted to hell.

Re: Americans are having less sex and researchers are blaming Netflix

#38

Post by leroy_masochist »

amriksohata wrote: post #17

Porn not Netflix, why would any male want sex with the effort of chasing a woman, romanticising, dealing with the hard-line feminists, when they can just knock one out for free?

Dealing with the hard-line feminists sounds exhausting

Re: Americans are having less sex and researchers are blaming Netflix

#39

Post by amelius »

jimmies wrote: post #26
insickness wrote: post #8

I would attribute it more the glut of free online porn than netflix. Men consume porn far more than women because men are more visually stimulated than women. This has been verified by numerous scientific studies. In many ways, women can't compete with porn. Hundreds of years ago, the average man would be delighted to get sex from the average woman in his local community. Through porn, your average guy has seen more…

While that might sound logical at the first glance, the abstract stated that "The decline was not linked to longer working hours or increased pornography use." https://sci-hub.tw/10.1007/s10508-017-0953-1

But the question they asked was: did you watch a pornographic movie in the last year? (yes/no)

This question does not make much sense in the current reality, where lots of people spend massive amounts of time watching online porn.

Watching one movie per year is something totally different from that.

Also, the type of porn has changed a lot over the years. And the choice of porn is now totally up to the user. I'm guessing this makes a huge difference too; at least this should be tested.

It's like these researchers are totally out of touch with reality.

Re: Americans are having less sex and researchers are blaming Netflix

#40

Post by throwawaymonkie »

amriksohata wrote: post #17

Porn not Netflix, why would any male want sex with the effort of chasing a woman, romanticising, dealing with the hard-line feminists, when they can just knock one out for free?

Why is this downvoted?

Hacker News is designed to appeal to cowards: someone had an opinion I didn't like, lets downvote with no accountability.

I've seen multiple times in here that the users really liked the idea of people with different opinions should talk with each other instead of remaining in their own echo chamber.

But the walk is much harder than the talk, just see what's happening here with any decending opinion.

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