It takes a lot to keep people from their vices. We all survive day by day, looking forward to the things we enjoy, even if they aren’t in our best interest. One of the biggest vices in the world is porn consumption. It’s a growing industry that is set to continue to grow as time goes on.
We accept that some things will take us away from our vices; however, the 2024 presidential debate shows that the second people have an opportunity to gratify their coveted pleasures, they will grab it by the horns.
If you need a reason to start to reconsider the passionate take of others, consider looking at what happened to porn consumption during the 2024 presidential debate.
In preparation for the debate, we saw a slightly above-average usage rate. The debate started, and there was an immediate drop in usage, continuing downward for 36 minutes.
After that point, we saw a steady uptick as the debate reached its first commercial break, which continued until the end of the debate. It’s a sad representation of viewer focus and interest, leading me to assume that between porn usage and any other possible distraction, few were actually paying attention.
People’s daily scheduled programming was so thrown off that after 36 minutes; we saw a positive trend that continued till the end of the debate.
Broadly speaking, I was wondering how often a person will be so consumed with something that for a long period of time (say an hour and 45 minutes, the length of the debate), nothing can take them away from it.
Just like in sports, few actually dissect the plays and analyze the components that lead to the ultimate result. We’re all merely craving the highlights. Similar to how I can’t bear the sports opinions of others, people’s political opinions usually make me cringe.
I can’t trust what you’re saying because you sound confident or appear highly knowledgeable because I don’t know the hours behind the scenes you’ve put into harnessing the information necessary to have a valid opinion.
Now, not every viewer’s attention was swooped away because of porn, but for PornHub to experience such a drop in viewership, we must assume the two are somewhat connected.
This doesn’t speak to the thousands of other porn sites and distractions that came about during the debate. How am I supposed to value someone’s political opinion when stats like this appear? This places doubt in my confidence in the American people and causes me to be slightly uncomfortable with the fact that these are potential voters.
This is why I’m leery of passionate argumentation, specifically when someone gives the impression that they are definitely correct. Despite being an opinion columnist, I don’t enjoy giving my opinion very much. The fragility of my point of view cautions me to listen and consider what people have to say; meanwhile, I wrestle with my own opinions, weighing the possibility that they may be out of my mind.
The trust we have in people who sound passionate or knowledgeable can consume our own ability to assess what other possibilities might be. People could not hold their attention for a debate that would influence who would be the next president, so how knowledgeable could they be on other topics?
We are driven by fulfilling our own interests that gratify our guilty pleasures, allowing us to function tomorrow. The uptick in usage we see around the commercial breaks alludes to the charade we all partake in to be functional members of society.
While we have general and passionate interests, we have darker, more self-indulgent passions behind closed doors that act as an escape from our daily responsibilities. We live for moments where we can satisfy those interests and rationalize them in our own ways.
Mohammad Tantawi is a 24-year-old mass communication senior from Smyrna, Tenn.
