Reply #91: I haven't seen any of the research you've mentioned... [View All]

[DutchLiberal]

Too bad you weren't able to provide links, so I could check them for myself. I'm a scholar of media myself, so I know the 'conclusions' of media-related research are often interpreted or reported the wrong way. Research on 'media influence' is very hard to do (as I've experienced myself), because a vague term like 'influence' is very hard to define and to measure. The closest I've seen of 'evidence' of media influence is the finding of correlation, which is something different than a direct cause-and-effect relation. Now I'm not saying there's no such thing as media influence (otherwise, why should corporations pay that much for advertising?). But the extent is hard to proof. Why are there so many men who watch porn on a regular basis without experiencing any of the effects you mention (desensiziting of rape/violence to women)? Those are really radical conclusions, and if they're not true for me and everybody I know, why should it be true for most men?

It's one thing to be opposed to porn, but why does it always have to be accompanied by such broad claims?