Friday, October 29, 2010

Religiosity and porn

When I was a young man, I remember friends telling me they were skeptical that I abstained from sex and masturbation. "It's not possible. The drive is too strong," they would say. I told them I avoided it because every time I started fooling around with a girl, I saw the flames of hell. It was an excellent disincentive.  I'm not saying it worked perfectly--I had to confess some things more than once. But even though I had girlfriends from age 16 on, I was able to remain a virgin until 24, and only then did I indulge after becoming convinced there was no God. 

This study of BYU students found that while all the young men believe that pornography is immoral, those who are less active in church and who have less religious families are significantly more likely to view porn. Thinking that something that you want to do is bad is not enough to stop you; there has to be some conviction. Personality, I'm sure, comes into play. Principles might not work very well on an unprincipled person, and a principled person who can't find any authoritative principles is in a quandary as well.         

9 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:55 AM

    Isn't the capacity for self discipline/self regulation a heritable trait?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous1:29 PM

    Don't you feel like a fool or at least feel hurt that your religiousity created those needless feelings of shame.

    I know I do.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thinking that something that you want to do is bad is not enough to stop you; there has to be some conviction

    How about the conviction that viewing this material demonstrably affects the way you think?

    It's scary. You become a puppet of degeneracy, rather than a true human.

    Take a look at how--

    "Effects of Prolonged Consumption of Pornography" [pdf of study]

    Highlights of findings [screenshot jpegs]:
    -- Desired # of Children
    -- Attitudes towards Promiscuity
    -- Perception of Promiscuity
    -- Estimated Frequency of Deviant Sexual Practices
    -- Penalty Desired For Rape

    This is scary stuff, considering how widespread pornography is today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All of that is pseudoscience:
      https://evoandproud.blogspot.com/2017/10/polygynyis-accepted-to-varying-degrees.html
      https://evoandproud.blogspot.com/2017/10/firstpage-of-underground-porn-comic-c.html

      Delete
  4. Anonymous1:08 PM

    Isn't the capacity for self discipline/self regulation a heritable trait?


    It would seem not, since Americans used to have it but no longer do.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous2:50 PM

    "It would seem not, since Americans used to have it but no longer do."


    Is that because the most responsible people have fewer children than irresponsible people? I mean if such a pattern continues there will be no responsible people.

    ReplyDelete
  6. "It would seem not, since Americans used to have it but no longer do."
    Keep in mind norms of reaction.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  8. https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/940624026640281600

    ReplyDelete

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