The Ethics of VR Porn #2 – Creating Clear Boundaries Between The Real World and The VR Experience

Image credit: Balls Deep 2

Sometimes when I’m all alone at night and I can’t sleep, I think about various philosophical topics and try to figure out answers to very complex questions. Certainly, it isn’t often that I am able to come up with clear solutions, and these thoughts often serve the purpose of putting me to sleep. However, the emergence of this high-tech wave of VR technology raises many ethical and sociological questions regarding our lives in the future. Probably the most famous dilemma revolves around this simple inquiry, “If it looks so real in the VR realm, then how are we supposed to tell the difference between what happens in the real world and what is a mere illusion that’s being projected in front of our eyes?”

Obviously, in this case we’re dealing with a fantasy world involving a pimp rabbit who magically brings 2 ladies into the scene. But distinguishing reality from the digital entertainment can become difficult in the case of certain people. Image credit: Easter Bunnies

Yes, this is a question that regards every single application of the VR technology, but it wasn’t addressed very seriously yet just because the scale and popularity of the medium aren’t large enough. The people who bought VR headsets are all upper-middle-class, benefit from a good education, and know better than allowing digital illusions interfere with their daily activities. Furthermore, the most capable VR hardware is way too expensive for kids to buy and get lost in. One idea that everyone has to agree upon is that virtual reality, augmented reality, and pretty much every type of digital entertainment require a certain degree of mental sanity. We might as well reach a certain point where governments will interfere with the market and regulate sales, as a result of unpredictable and unfortunate events where the distinction between the real world and the virtual realm wasn’t made. I tend to be pretty libertarian myself, but every type of entertainment became regulated one way or another, and VR can be pretty dangerous if it’s abused or the images aren’t perceived as a digital illusion.

Let’s be more specific: certain attitudes and types of behavior presented in VR porn can teach bad lessons to those who can’t tell fiction from reality. The difference is that this time it’s all very immersive and believable, so we must ensure that we draw a line and prevent potential sexual crimes.

Sex with a fictional character is obviously a product of our imagination that VR porn conveniently makes possible through the great use of costumes and make-up, but what happens in the case of very realistic films which depict real situations that might occur in real life? We have to take into consideration that troubled people might watch them and replicate the behavior. And it all might just backfire on us. Image credit: Overcrotch

Remember the Columbine High School shooting from the late 1990s? At the time, the mentally deranged shooter was found to be playing the video game DOOM which led to a huge investigation and a debate that still affects violent digital entertainment. Due to the misinterpretation of games like the previously-mentioned DOOM, Mortal Kombat, and Carmageddon, we now have the ESRB rating system for games. And this was a huge compromise, as certain lawyers demanded that certain titles would be banned, though there was never a proof to demonstrate that the unfortunate tragedies happened due to violent media consumption.

A well-known fact in social science is that correlation doesn’t imply causality but in the cause of a legal system that relies on common law (like the American one), it’s actually the judges and their juries who set precedents on the go (unless, of course, our Congress gets involved and votes on a regulating draft). It is indeed stupid to link certain behaviors to media consumption, but abuses can always do damage. For example, we can all agree that chocolate is great and we enjoy having it every day, but in large doses, it can cause anything from diabetes to obesity, and it is for this exact reason that companies display the public interest messages regarding side effects.

In the case of virtual reality porn, we can think of a future situation when, after the hardware becomes accessible and available in any household as an entertainment appliance, sexual abuses are made within certain communities. Since we live under a functioning legal system, the criminals will be put on trial… but according to the lawyer’s advice, they might try to reduce their culpability and blame their behavior on the kind of VR porn they watched. Defending the medium is nearly impossible, even though generalizations shouldn’t be made (just because certain people choke to death while having French fries, it doesn’t mean that we should all be prevented from the evil culinary specialty, or that the potato farmers are guilty in any way), the press and various media groups have their ways of causing outrage and worrying chatter.

What I’m trying to say is that one deranged person who commits despicable acts of adultery without consent and who might have seen similar BDSM scenes in porn shouldn’t be representative of the whole community of VR porn, nor should he blame his behavior on adult entertainment.

For example, it can be said that this film by TmwVRNet promotes the idea of sexually abusing your employees as a boss. It features dominance and submissiveness that looks exciting for all of us horny consumers, but some people might just get the wrong message out of it. Image credit: Test For Hiring: Casting For New Cutie

I’ve previously argued the complete opposite, that VR porn can reduce the rates of rape and sex crimes on a large scale, and that offenders who can’t control their animal instincts should be given VR headsets to be able to cool down by themselves, under the illusion that they’re getting what they want, and in complete safety for the rest of society. But if you just Google “sex crimes linked to porn”, you will discover that you get over 9 million results.

My not-so-optimistic prediction is that, at some point in the near future, a sex criminal will blame his behavior on the VR porn he’s watched. And while it’s proven that from amongst millions of users, only a bunch become influenced to the degree of replicating what they see (and I’m especially talking about BDSM films which seem to become increasingly popular in VR). But it’s enough for the media to begin a huge investigation that can easily turn into a witch-hunt against all the VR porn enthusiasts who merely seek refuge and relaxation at the end of a hard day at work.

It’s difficult to demonstrate that realistic and immersive images haven’t caused or at least influenced the sexual techniques and performances of the watchers, so the interference of the legislative branch might just lead to specific pieces of legislation which oblige studios to post disclaimer messages such as “This is not a real event and what you’re seeing is a bunch of professionals who do their job,” or even “Please make sure you take a break every 30 minutes and don’t overuse the VR headset for prolonged hours.“

It happened to video games and TV programmes (which, in all fairness, happen on a screen that’s placed at a considerable distance from the physical presence of the user) just because people felt like blaming the medium instead of facing their own problems, and it is very probable that it will happen to virtual porn.

Back in the 1990s, there was a congressional hearing about violence in video games, and the argument was that this is an interactive kind of media which makes you control the bloody and ruthless characters on screen. If the touch controls further evolve and our beloved VR porn becomes a lot more realistic and interactive, then we might be facing a similar situation.

In this particular VR experience, you’re tied and you see some really kinky uses of BDSM. It’s all fun while it’s consensual, but some deranged lunatic might be capable of ruining this digital paradise if he publicly blames VR porn when put on trial. Image credit: Where Is The Map?

As a matter of fact, we already have the Teledildonics and full-body vests which synchronize with the action presented through the lens of the VR headset, just so the user can have a complete experience of the hard sex. Right now, they’re used by a small niche enthusiasts, but if they become commercially successful, we have to be extra cautious and responsible about the whole situation. 

In most cases, it’s a lot better to prevent than to be reckless and face the consequences after the gloomy predictions have actually proved to turn into reality. And I think that the time is right for warning messages to be displayed and disclaimers to be made clear, alongside with health alerts. For example, if you’ve been using the VR headset for longer than 3 hours, you should be warned about the possible side-effects and be advised to take an extended break to rest your eyes and clear your head. The more radical situation would be that of automatically turning off the devices after a pre-determined amount of time, but that’s way too harsh and might draw away the users from even trying.

If the government interferes with VR porn and imposes stricter rules, then it’s going to be a lot more damaging than coercing content producers to display disclaimer and warning images. Sure, even the negative press is free publicity, but it’s about more than the technology’s public image: if legal regulations appear, then the dynamics of the business will be forever changed and the awesome content we see today might just suffer a lot. When the quality of the product (which is the prime reason for the average individual to try VR porn) is at stake, then maybe we should think really carefully about solutions in order to prevent taking the blame for the content itself.

If you walk into a room and find an ongoing lesbian experience, getting involved in the sexual intercourse without invitation is a sex crime. You don’t see a clear invitation in the film, but that doesn’t mean that you should get the wrong message. However, would disclaimers be useful, or would they ruin the experience? Image credit: Spring Break The Prelude 2017

We clearly don’t want to hear about some Timmy who used to be a nice guy in high school, but raped his classmate in the ladies’ locker room because he watched VR porn involving sex in a locker room. That would be detrimental to the business itself, and that’s why it would be wise to begin placing disclaimers and warnings. They just might be the best solution to counter future lawsuits and unpleasant situations, as they clearly delimitate what is real from what is just the VR software.

I’m pretty sure that a lot of people won’t agree with the arguments I’ve made and will come up with some very optimistic and probably libertarian comments against a seeming obsession with paternalism. However, it’s a lot wiser to take the guilt off of your shoulders and let them deal with the real problems, while we can all enjoy what this amazing genre of adult entertainment offers us. What do you think?