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A recent study by Newcastle University looked at people’s ideas surrounding VR porn. The research consisted of asking 45 people to write a fictional story about a man named Jack and his first virtual reality porn experience. The scientists hoped that the stories they received from the participants might give some insight into the potential benefits and risks of the new technology.
Unfortunately, the evidence only reflected off the researchers’ own preconceptions and academic bias.
Two Categories
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The study used a tactic called the story completion method to elicit a response from the participants. The team presented the sample group with a short story prompt and asked the subjects to finish the narrative by filling in the blanks. Once the responses were collected, the researchers then used their “objective” analysis to divide the responses into two categories.
The first category was comprised of stories that emphasized the euphoric aspects of VR porn. Descriptions of “perfect” sex and hyper-eroticism fell neatly into this group.
The second category was made up of stories that emphasized the more “precarious” aspects of virtual reality porn. The narratives that focused on issues like addiction and jealousy made their way into this pile.
Making Headlines
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It was on the basis of this second pile that the Newcastle study made headlines when the researchers suggested that VR porn could be used for such scary purposes as virtual cheating and digital rape.
“One of our findings suggested VR pornography could be something more like cheating on a partner because of the increasing ‘reality’ of the VR experience,” said Mathew Wood, a member of the research team.
The team also added,
Our research highlighted not only a drive for perfection, but also a crossover between reality and fantasy. Some of our findings highlighted the potential for creating 3D models of real life people, raising questions over what consent means in VR experiences. If a user created a VR version of their real life girlfriend, for example, would they do things to her that they knew she would refuse in the real world?
Anecdotal Evidence
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This focus on sexual exploitation seemed to be a favorite theme among the “scientists.” And it’s little surprise they were able to confirm this bias with the purely anecdotal evidence their study collected.
The lack of scientific integrity that the researchers exercised while conducting their study was obvious from the very outset of their article which began with the wildly presumptuous statement:
“As a society we are always looking for new and novel experiences but the porn industry brings with it an added risk because of its sexist stance and exploitation of women.”
To make such a sweeping generalization of the porn industry in a scientific publication violates every rule of good practice, especially when it’s so intimately related to the subject of the study itself. Nevertheless, the article’s inane combination of scare tactics and academic dogma was enough to thrust it into the news spotlight, once again raising unjustified fears about VR porn.
As you rightly said, the research seems more of a self biased presumptions and stating them more boldly to sound otherwise
this feels mesmerizing that they are conducting serious thorough studies for vr porn