Today in hypocrisy: 65 percent of American men think watching porn is morally unacceptable

Thinkstock

Today in hypocrisy: 65 percent of American men think watching porn is morally unacceptable
(Image credit: Thinkstock)

Only 29 percent of Americans think watching porn is morally acceptable, according to stats from the Public Region Research Institute. Unsurprisingly, women tend to be even less tolerant than men, with only 23 percent approving. Still, only 35 percent of men think a little private browsing is okay. These sentiments are questionable, to say the least, when compared with statistics about American pornography viewing habits. Researchers have found that 30 percent of all internet traffic involves pornographic sites and 10 to 15 percent of search engine queries are porn-related, according to data from the neuroscientists behind A Billion Wicket Thoughts.

The takeaway? Americans enjoy porn but feel bad about it. Or maybe they just watch it for the articles.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up
Explore More

Monica Nickelsburg is a digital producer for TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for Transient Pictures, The Daily Beast, NBC, and Forbes. Follow her @mnickelsburg.