Online pornography subscriptions are the highest in traditionally “red” states, according to a Harvard University study.  While subscriptions for online adult entertainment are similar in each state. states with stronger conservative values show a slight increase in subscribers, according to a study published in the Journal of Economic Perspective.”Certainly some data supports the hypothesis that residents of conservative states consume more online adult entertainment,” said Benjamin Edelman, Harvard business administration professor who conducted the study.Edelman used a list of zip codes with all credit card subscriptions from 2006 to 2008 from a major adult entertainment seller. He studied the different zip codes throughout the country to form patterns of consumers buying habits.”The factor I think is most interesting is that most states look relatively similar,” Edelman said.In every state, a considerable amount of people are willing to pay for online pornography, he said. People aren’t willing to pay for many other types of online media, but adult entertainment has a large market, he said.Online adult entertainment reported a $2.8 billion revenue in 2006. Utah, Florida, Alaska and Mississippi were some of the states with the highest subscribers and several other traditional “red” states were high on the list.”The most-subscribing state is Utah, where 5.47 of every 1,000 broadband households subscribed to the service at issue,” the study said. “The least-subscribing state is Montana with 1.92 per 1000 broadband households.”Often there is a perception of a double standard or hypocrisy in states with high moral standards, said Kirby Goidel, mass communication and political science professor. But the findings from the study don’t necessarily mean “conservatives are out buying porn,” Goidel said.In cities with more conservative viewpoints, there is less availability for adult entertainment, Goidel said. It would be easier for consumers to go online to find it, he said.In a red state, where the social norms do not involve adult video stores or receiving brown envelopes in the mail with magazines inside, people find the entertainment online, Goidel said.In Louisiana, one would assume more people search online for adult entertainment in Baton Rouge then in New Orleans where it is more openly accessible, Goidel explained.”Lack of availability of retail adult entertainment, in some states, is certainly an important factor to consider,” Edelman said.Between 2.9 and 3.6 subscriptions per thousand home broadband users were reported in Louisiana.Other major variables in the study showed income, age and education are associated with the amount of online subscriptions.”A 1 percent increase in residents aged 15–24 yields a 0.19 percent increase in subscriptions at this adult entertainment service,” the study said.—-Contact Joy Lukachick at [email protected]