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Porn report incomplete

Thanks for your insight. But it wont matter much because the Utah Mormon haters look for anything they can slam us for. If they had said that the # was 1 out of 10 Utahans viewed porn on the internet, they would still view it as all 10 where guilty instead of the one. Its amazing how hate can distort ones view of reality. Hate is all consuming weather youre a Utah Mormon hater or someone who hates gays.
Despite the articles accuracy it is still disturbing. My son in law works with troubled boys who have porn addictions. Porn is as mind altering as any drug, especially on youth. There is nothing good about it. For anyone who cares to look it up, there is a lot of research on how harmful porn is. But I know there are people who will comment on this and say theres nothing wrong with it. I believe we live in that time Isaiah said people would call good evil and evil good.

I find it odd a Professor, who should know about research concepts, attacks a study for not including elements beyond the stated parameters. It does not make sense the researchers would focus on or make conclusions about elements they did not study.

The study was about ON-LINE pornography. To extrapolate beyond that issue may be interesting, but it's not scientific.

Complete now? Not quite.

To Cheryl's first point, after one minute of research (as opposed to 'substantial research on pornography consumption') I found the PEW doesn't agree w/ Cheryl deeming Utah 'very high' in internet use. Given their three indicators (rural, urban, and principal city) the only one that may comparatively be classed as 'high' (not 'very high') was rural. And guess where 4 of the 5 most porn watching areas in Utah are found? In rural areas! Oh Cheryl, seems like you're right!

But what about the fact this is based on a per capita basis and the rural areas are, by definition, less populated? Why not account for that, Cheryl?

On the other hand, the more 'rural' Utah gets the higher the percentage of Mormons. So... what does that mean, Cheryl?

To her other three assertions: uhm, do they seem like separate renditions of the same point to anyone else? Does Cheryl 'account for' everything by merely repeating something over and over? And then does she 'account for' these laws, as any legal scholar would, by failing to address the fact that they violate the Dormant Commerce Clause? Or_that_this_report_is_narrowed_and_directed_solely_at_internet_use,_not_hard_copy_porn? Something_tells_me_Cheryl_still_has_a_long_way_to_go_before_she_has_accounted_for_her_own_mistakes. Nice_try_though. Keep_up_the_justifications_professor!

How does failing to account for non-online pornography and computer savvy-ness affect a report on on-line pornography?

Easy answer - It doesn't. The article was about on-line pornography. Trying to excuse that by saying "Well, Utahns can't get pornography in other ways" sounds really pathetic.

If the article had claimed that Utahns are the biggest consumers of ALL pornography, than you would be correct in wondering if those other factors had been taken into account.

How about instead of crying over how the data paints a picture we don't like, we try to determine a REALISTIC (i.e. not legislative) way to address the problem?

that chip on your shoulder must be getting heavy but hay its a great way to just roundly dismiss even legitimate arguments or concerns.

Nice Attempt at rationalization.
If you really are in law school, your analysis should embarass you. Such unsubstantiated speculation would never hold up in court.

Obviously this professor wants to live in a world where nothing bad ever happens in Utah. LDS Apostles, G.A.'s and Bishops have been saying for years that porn is the biggest (or at least way up there) problem for MEN in the LDS church. Why can't people admit they have a problem and fix it, instead of denying it exists. By trying to rationalize that "hard-copy"porn is hard to get doesn't show that Utah doesn't have a porn problem. Maybe so many people are viewing online porn because they can't get "hard-copy" porn. You would think a professor could figure that one out.

Didn't a report a few years ago also say that Utah has the highest rate of prescription drug abuse? I guess because we don't have access to a lot of cocaine, heroin, and LSD we aren't really using any drugs here.

Stop living in denial. Utah has a porn problem. We need to fix it, not rationalize it.

Just tell everyone you only read the articles. Yeah, they'll believe that.

Guys, this letter is a horrible attempt at spin.

I think the letter raises some very fair points, although I don't necessarily agree with the conclusion.

"porn problem"?
"porn" is over 7,200 years old, trying to deny or escape "porn" is like trying to denying what it means to be human.
Good luck with trying to "fix" the "problem".

I have not read the actual study, but as I recall from news reports, the study did correct for different levels of internet access amongst states, age demographics, etc. and Utah still ranked on top. The letter writer's last three points are all variations of the same theme. As I recall, the study did acknowledge the difficulty of accessing adult content locally from other media as one possible explanation for the high Utah ranking for online usage. She is not raising a new argument.

The overwhelming preponderance of socially conservative "red" states in the higher ranks and the relative absence of more liberal "blue" states is the key finding. It suggests that public displays of morality can be smokescreens for private vice. It parallels other studies showing higher rates of teen pregnancy, poverty, etc. in red states. Not to mention lottery ticket sales in Preston, ID. Conservatives may be due for some self reflection. Censorship and control may not be the best mechanisms to limit sin. Constructive engagement and freedom may be.

One more thing this study doesn't account for:

It only measured the instances of porn subscriptions, i.e. the number of people paying for porn. It fails to account for the people who are getting porn for free, which I suspect is the vast majority of porn users.

Maybe other states are just saavier than Utah at knowing where to get good porn for free.

The author's comments make sense, overall. If broader measures of pornography use were evaluated (online & hard-copy), Utah's profile might look less egregious.

However, it's hard to discount the alarming data this study does reveal--alibis notwithstanding. Paradoxically, I suspect Utah's doggedly conservative and Mormon culture factors heavily into the statistical cause. With so many eyes watching, I imagine the anonymity of online pornography is a comfort for those seeking out what they are told is forbidden.

I find it so amusing that Utahn's still want to paint this holier than thou picture to the entire world when it is not true! Online pornography is not allowed in the state of Utah? Are you kidding me with this load of bull?! The report also stated that it is the highest among most of the Red states, not just Utah. So the whole mormon bashing bull is also a flawed argument. When will the mormons stop playing the victim? It's old and tired ladies and gentlemen! I totally agree with Lagomorph's views. Ye without sin cast the first stone! Let's just fix the problem instead of ralitionizing it.

I think there is a problem. Notwithstanding the dearth of these indecent materials from other (non-internet) outlets, the report is still sobering.

There is no way to solve it other than changes in personal behaviors, commitments, and conquering addictive habits. While some of the problem is with non-Mormons and there are a great many in some parts of Utah, it also involves many young and some older people who are to some degree active in their faith.

I hope that we will successfully combat this addiction; the Church will continue, I am sure, to teach and counsel against it and I hope will succeed in changing hearts and minds.

I also hope that the addictive soap operas, which glamorize adultery will be addressed in due course. I am sure this will help to stop the rationalization of divorce in many cases.

This report was about people who PAY for internet porn. I think that the real problem is that Utahns must be stupid to pay for something that is free. I get all the porn I want on the internet and have never paid one penny.

Denial of problems is what the LDS corp does best- with this survey, with its own history, with the plausibility of its doctrine, and with gays in its rank and file. Pretend it doesn't exist, and it goes away, right?

This is what they pay professors for down there?
The facts are clear, Utah is a large consumer of internet porn. There is no debating that.
And yes, it is likely men of all walks of life doing it.

I think I read or heard on the new somewhere that Utah is an Employers haven because of our higher than average population that both have casual access to computers and are computer savvy; if that is true, then the authors point of higher than average percapita access to this porn medium is valid.

Take that as valid, then the results may well be skewed because of the severe reduction porn available via other medium.