# "Doctor, I think I've caught. . . PORNOGRAPHY!" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 19, 2004, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659 "2004-11-19T14:52:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659/41 "2004-11-19T19:20:20Z")
I have worked in situations that would have been much more productive and harmonious if the boss had been cooped up in his office, looking at porn all day. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659/42 "2004-11-19T19:50:45Z")
I kind of took the call for billboards, etc. as being in the same spirit as all those “Drink responsibly” ads. You know, “Here’s this product lots of people like, but it can be dangerous if you’re not careful, so please be careful.” If people don’t realize that porn can be addictive (and a lot of people don’t, just like a lot of people used to not realize that cigarettes were addictive), I’ve got no problem with educating them about the possible risks. Informed consent is never a bad thing, imo. ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659/43 "2004-11-19T20:19:34Z")
I’ll go with that only if I, personally, get to write the warning labels. “Warning: jacking off 8 hours a day may wear your penis down to a small nub.” ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659/44 "2004-11-19T20:32:47Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > I kind of took the call for billboards, etc. as being in the same spirit as all those “Drink responsibly” ads. You know, “Here’s this product lots of people like, but it can be dangerous if you’re not careful, so please be careful.” If people don’t realize that porn can be addictive (and a lot of people don’t, just like a lot of people used to not realize that cigarettes were addictive), I’ve got no problem with educating them about the possible risks. Informed consent is never a bad thing, imo. But you’re assuming the thing that has not yet been proven, i.e., the claims that porn is addictive. The Anti-Sex League have no scientific data to back up their assertions so it seems terribly drastic to start “warning” people, or more likely, banning porn on their say-so. In addition, how are we defining porn? To some ninnyhammers, [unclothed statuary](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1788845.stm) counts as pornography; to tohers, Academy Award-winning films are [pornographic](http://archive.aclu.org/issues/freespeech/tindrum.html). Who gets to decide? More to the point, what right has some Puritanical jackass to decide for me? ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659/45 "2004-11-19T20:35:30Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > I kind of took the call for billboards, etc. as being in the same spirit as all those “Drink responsibly” ads. You know, “Here’s this product lots of people like, but it can be dangerous if you’re not careful, so please be careful.” If people don’t realize that porn can be addictive (and a lot of people don’t, just like a lot of people used to not realize that cigarettes were addictive), I’ve got no problem with educating them about the possible risks. Informed consent is never a bad thing, imo. I would like to get the contract for the Wank Responsibly marketing campaign. Picture a large hospital ward. As the camera pans, we see that the beds, walkers, and wheelchairs are filled with teenage boys. The camera zooms in to reveal that their eyes are glassy and unfocused. The boys are going blind. The camera pans again, and we catch a glimpse of palm thickly matted with fur. Then the voice over: “Nearly 30% of all boys between the ages of 14 and 18 will experience permanent vision damage\*. There has been a 260% increase in cases of manusary follicosis since Bill Clinton took office.\* Don’t toss your life away by tossing off to porn.” Down at the bottom of the screen in 6 point font: \*Probable scientific data extrapolated from theoretical models ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659/46 "2004-11-19T20:41:12Z")
Or more concisely, for the 10-second attention span market… “Why can’t you see the hair on your palms? Because you’re going blind…” ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659/47 "2004-11-19T20:50:02Z")
I bet the folks who dreamed this up are simply hoping for taxpayer funding to do “research” for years on end… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659/48 "2004-11-19T20:51:23Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > I kind of took the call for billboards, etc. as being in the same spirit as all those “Drink responsibly” ads. You know, “Here’s this product lots of people like, but it can be dangerous if you’re not careful, so please be careful.” If people don’t realize that porn can be addictive (and a lot of people don’t, just like a lot of people used to not realize that cigarettes were addictive), I’ve got no problem with educating them about the possible risks. Informed consent is never a bad thing, imo. There is no scientific evidence that porn is “dangerous” or “addictive” so the signs woukd be dishonest. There are people who have sexual compulsions but blaming the porn for a guy who can’t stop flogging the dolphin is like blaming the Jurgen’s Lotion. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659/49 "2004-11-19T20:56:48Z")
I was watching a newmagazine - 60 Minutes, I think - about a husband who was being tried for murdering his wife and daughter. The prosecution argued that he had done the deed because his porn addiction had destroyed his ability to love his wife, or some damn thing. As evidence of his porn addiction, they said they had found over five hundred porn images on his PC. Five hundred? That’s _it_? That’s not a “porn addiction,” that’s somebody who’s disabled his email filters for ten minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659/50 "2004-11-19T20:58:21Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > I bet the folks who dreamed this up are simply hoping for taxpayer funding to do “research” for years on end… 😉 You may think you are joking, but this is often the case. There are no studies that I’m aware of, unfortunately, but there have been some pretty interesting accounts self-professed porn crusaders with well stocked libraries that would be the envy of any frat house. You see, you must know your enemy. And bookmark the absolute naughtiest parts of the naughtiest books, referring to them often, lest you forget how sinful they are. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659/51 "2004-11-19T20:59:39Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > There is no scientific evidence that porn is “dangerous” or “addictive” so the signs woukd be dishonest. There are people who have sexual compulsions but blaming the porn for a guy who can’t stop flogging the dolphin is like blaming the Jurgen’s Lotion. Jergen’s? You are _such_ a straight guy. Get thee to your local gay book store and get some Wet, the lube of champions. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659/52 "2004-11-19T21:04:24Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > I don’t see a problem with the concept itself. If the aforementioned businessman is spending 8 hours a day looking at porn when he should be working, that’s not healthy behavior. If someone is viewing pornography to the extent that it’s having detrimental effects on his life, or interfering with his ability to have healthy sexual relationships with other people, that’s not healthy behavior. This doesn’t mean that porn itself is bad, or that viewing it is neccesarily unhealthy. Obviously it isn’t, anymore than the fact that gambling addictions exist mean that gambling is neccesarily unhealthy. > > However, if a person has a psychological dependence on something, and that dependence is interfering with the living of his daily life, then it’s ok to call it an addiction, I think. Then what are we going to do about all the poor, trapped individuals who are addicted to message boards? I open a window for the Straight Dope as (almost) the first thing I do when I get tot he office and I don’t close it until I go home. The SDMB has interfered with my sleep, caused arguments with my husband and interfered with many aspects of my daily life. Is there a detox program for me? Should there be? Or should we just close down all message board because some people like me can’t do it responsibly? ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659/53 "2004-11-19T21:06:15Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > I kind of took the call for billboards, etc. as being in the same spirit as all those “Drink responsibly” ads. You know, “Here’s this product lots of people like, but it can be dangerous if you’re not careful, so please be careful.” If people don’t realize that porn can be addictive (and a lot of people don’t, just like a lot of people used to not realize that cigarettes were addictive), I’ve got no problem with educating them about the possible risks. Informed consent is never a bad thing, imo. Alcohol, caffeine and nicotene have been shown to be _chemically_ addictive. Show us one peer-reviewed study that shows porn has. > [@](#): > > And you should know, the United States wants nothing, absolutely nothing to do with Muslim theocracies. > (We’d like a Christian theocracy, thank you very much!) Tomato, tamahto, potato, potahto ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659/54 "2004-11-19T21:11:51Z")
Why stop at just porn, though? Why not also warn about video games and soap operas-both of those “addictive”, in the way that porn is. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659/55 "2004-11-19T21:12:34Z")
I think the study would be viable if Oooh! Tits! Sorry, it’s Firefox, the tabbed browsing becomes intrusive when you’re loading pages in the background and you see the page title load in Oooh! Ladies in see-through skimpies! Sorry, I’ll be back in a Oooh! Bottoms! ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659/56 "2004-11-19T21:22:32Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Cue Dolly Parton song: _“Wanking…9 to 5!..”_ “Another long, hard day at the office, Honey?” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659/57 "2004-11-19T21:28:46Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Why stop at just porn, though? Why not also warn about video games and soap operas-both of those “addictive”, in the way that porn is. Don’t give them any ideas, **Guin**. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659/58 "2004-11-19T21:32:35Z")
Hey! That was my 10,000th post! ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659/59 "2004-11-19T21:36:50Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Hey! That was my 10,000th post! I know where to get the cake. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659/60 "2004-11-19T21:41:47Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Hey! That was my 10,000th post! Welcome to the Five Digit Poster Club. You’ll receive your T-shirt and cap in 4-6 weeks. The first rule of the Five Digit Poster Club is that you do not _Talk_ abou… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-i-think-ive-caught-pornography/275659.md?page=4)