Is porn immoral? That doesn’t matter: It’s a public health crisis.

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79. i'm skeptical about the studies demonstrating what is claimed here.

i imagine it's actually quite difficult to design and execute a properly controlled study that doesn't eliminate other factors.

the most obvious is that causation might easily go the other way.

consider the study cited where men who viewed porn in the last 12 months are more likely to say they'd commit rape (if they thought they could get away with it) than men who didn't view porn in the last 12 months. i highly doubt that they randomly selected men and then told some to view porn (whether they were otherwise inclined to or not) and other to avoid porn (whether they were otherwise inclined to or not) for 12 months, then at the end of the 12 months, studied the effects.

instead, i rather suspect they simply asked the men whether they *chose* to view porn in the last 12 months. this means that the causation would easily go the other way. that is, men who would commit rape (if they though they could get away with it) are more likely to choose to view porn than men who would not commit rape (if they thought they could get away with it).

that's not to say the conclusion isn't accurate; perhaps it is. it just seems clear to me that the article is throwing in the kitchen sink in terms of studies that conclude porn is bad. i'd be more swayed by studies that seemed more objective and carefully constructed.