Quote:
Originally Posted by QuantumIguana
No, that's not been the gist of the thread. The gist of it is that if your going to claim that certain things have certain effects, there needs to be evidence for that claim. There's plenty of evidence for the effect advertising has, but that doesn't mean that other effects must be real.
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What evidence would suffice? Any study presented would have a counterstudy. A review of the article over at Wikipedia on the social effects of pornography shows that while several studies support the conclusion that pornography has a negative sociological effect, other studies call that conclusion into question. It's a question that can't be conclusively answered in a single study, though the studies available can incline a person to believe that conclusion or to disbelieve that conclusion. I feel like the studies lend credence to the idea that the regular consumption of pornography has negative effects, but another person might not.
Today is it is very difficult for two people today to come to a mutually acceptable definition of "negative effect." For instance, a person who thinks of long-term exposure to pornography or erotica as extremely damaging may consider certain mindsets to be negative, whereas a person who regularly views/reads erotica or pornography may not consider those mindsets to be so negative. In this case, it would not be possible for people to agree on the question as to whether or not pornography has a negative effect on those who regularly consume it.
The question centers, after all, on whether people who frequently consume erotic/pornographic content continue to think of sex the same way as people who don't. I believe they do not continue to think the same way--what they consume affects them, and that after viewing pornography on a regular basis, they think about sex differently than before. If I'm right, then those people would likely reject my claims--they don't think that their thoughts on sex have changed or been affected in any negative way. They're just fine with the effects.