Virtual reality porn and the future of loneliness • Hacker News Board

Re: Virtual reality porn and the future of loneliness

#31

Post by Ygg2 » Sun, Jul 12, 2015, 10:14 PM UTC

leoc wrote: post #10

> 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 po…

I think it's a self correcting problem. The people that enjoy the VR to exclusion of regular human contact, will remove those people from the gene pool.

Sure, you might end with a different next generation that has the fear of VR built into them, or the entire human race will die, out, but its nothing to concern yourself with.

Re: Virtual reality porn and the future of loneliness

#32

Post by polarix » Sun, Jul 12, 2015, 10:17 PM UTC

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.

Re: Virtual reality porn and the future of loneliness

#33

Post by allemagne » Sun, Jul 12, 2015, 10:22 PM UTC

ams6110 wrote: post #19

rosser wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're forgetting the (admittedly, somewhat uncountable) number of people who are substituting porn and masturbation for sexual relationships with real, live human beings. Yes, people in relationships, with sex lives watch porn. Good for them. They aren't the ones we should be concerned about; they aren't the ones whose behavior is (or risks becoming) maladptive. I think you're drawing a false identity here — between…

As someone else asked above, who is "we?" And why is it any business of "ours" whether someone decides that relationships (in the romantic/sexual sense) with other people are something he/she wants?

Both of those questions seem self-explanatory. "We" means society, civilization, or humanity at large, and the point isn't to force relationships on people who wouldn't otherwise be in them but to acknowledge and help out of altruism those who want romance but instead self-medicate with pornography and masturbation.

Re: Virtual reality porn and the future of loneliness

#34

Post by peddamat » Sun, Jul 12, 2015, 10:23 PM UTC

amelius wrote: post #20

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

Relevant SMBC: http://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20131122.png

Re: Virtual reality porn and the future of loneliness

#35

Post by minthd » Sun, Jul 12, 2015, 10:30 PM UTC

monk_e_boy wrote: post #16

angersock wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quite right! Now if only we could accept as a society that sex is natural, normal, and healthy, and that it is a standard part of healthy functioning relationships. Porn wouldn't be half as popular, I believe, were creep-shaming and the entire romantic-industrial complex not so pervasive.

How about couples in a monogamous relationship - is that natural? (genuine question) Are we moving to a more fluid type of relationship - is VR sex closer to cheating? Sexual images that are illegal would still be illegal in VR?

>> How about couples in a monogamous relationship - is that natural?

There's some evidence that while short-term(a few years) monogamy is natural , long-term one isn't . this book talks about it:

http://www.amazon.com/Sex-Dawn-Stray-Modern-Relationships-eb...

Re: Virtual reality porn and the future of loneliness

#36

Post by icebraining » Sun, Jul 12, 2015, 10:30 PM UTC

anigbrowl wrote: post #29

jimhefferon wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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.

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

Re: Virtual reality porn and the future of loneliness

#37

Post by mistermann » Sun, Jul 12, 2015, 10:32 PM UTC

ams6110 wrote: post #19

rosser wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're forgetting the (admittedly, somewhat uncountable) number of people who are substituting porn and masturbation for sexual relationships with real, live human beings. Yes, people in relationships, with sex lives watch porn. Good for them. They aren't the ones we should be concerned about; they aren't the ones whose behavior is (or risks becoming) maladptive. I think you're drawing a false identity here — between…

As someone else asked above, who is "we?" And why is it any business of "ours" whether someone decides that relationships (in the romantic/sexual sense) with other people are something he/she wants?

Well, demographics and reproduction rates have significant effect on economics for starters.

http://www.clearonmoney.com/dw/doku.php?id=public:japan_demo...

Re: Virtual reality porn and the future of loneliness

#38

Post by minthd » Sun, Jul 12, 2015, 10:34 PM UTC

jimhefferon wrote: post #21

leoc wrote: post #10

> 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 po…

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.

One thing that's still imperfect with VR is getting strong presence , consistently. But pot greatly helps with that, at least according to some guys from reddit.

Re: Virtual reality porn and the future of loneliness

#39

Post by 7952 » Sun, Jul 12, 2015, 10:48 PM UTC

ams6110 wrote: post #19

rosser wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're forgetting the (admittedly, somewhat uncountable) number of people who are substituting porn and masturbation for sexual relationships with real, live human beings. Yes, people in relationships, with sex lives watch porn. Good for them. They aren't the ones we should be concerned about; they aren't the ones whose behavior is (or risks becoming) maladptive. I think you're drawing a false identity here — between…

As someone else asked above, who is "we?" And why is it any business of "ours" whether someone decides that relationships (in the romantic/sexual sense) with other people are something he/she wants?

It isn't anyone's buisness, it is just interesting to consider.

Re: Virtual reality porn and the future of loneliness

#40

Post by icebraining » Sun, Jul 12, 2015, 10:50 PM UTC

mistermann wrote: post #37

ams6110 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone else asked above, who is "we?" And why is it any business of "ours" whether someone decides that relationships (in the romantic/sexual sense) with other people are something he/she wants?

Well, demographics and reproduction rates have significant effect on economics for starters. http://www.clearonmoney.com/dw/doku.php?id=public:japan_demo...

Well, not exactly. Lack of people of working age has an effect on economics. Reproduction is just one possible way of fixing that problem, not the only.