If Porn Is Bad Why Is It The Net’s Billion Dollar Industry?

Take for instance the New York Times Magazine: It ran a cover story recently called “Naked Capitalists: There’s No Business Like Porn Business.” Its thesis: Pornography is big business–with $10 billion to $14 billion in annual sales.The author, Frank Rich, suggests that pornography is bigger than any of the major league sports, perhaps bigger than Hollywood.

There were only a few things selling on the Net in those days — books, some information, a product here and there, but far and away the biggest seller on the early Internet was porn.

Yes, the adult entertainment industry was dominant from almost day one. The Net’s ability to bring an unlimited horizon of information and entertainment directly to the privacy of your home made it the perfect vehicle for anyone ready to buy adult entertainment.

The huge demand for porn was not lost on corporate America. One of the only studies into where money flows in the porn industry revealed that many of America’s biggest mainstream entertainment companies were secretly behind the financing and distribution of porn. That’s right, the same companies that make G-rated movies available at Wal-Mart were also bringing adult entertainment to stores, mail order firms, and online sites.

Interestingly, most porn was not created in Hollywood or some New York City back alley. Porn videos were, and still are shot all over the country in cities and towns of all sizes, frequently involving actors who are friends or even married. These “mom and pop” producers sell their videos and photos to distributors.
Current estimates range between $10 to $20 billion in revenues for adult web sites. And it’s no wonder. Studies show a large majority of Americans regularly visit adult sites. One minister started a religious porn site after finding nearly half of Christians polled in one study enjoyed adult sites.

Clearly, most Americans see nothing wrong with adult sites. After all, they enjoy these sites in overwhelming numbers.

Then why do the media and public leaders always portray porn as something bad, an evil force in society that is destroying families and inspiring crime?

The answer to that may lie in America’s long Victorian tradition where we frequently do one thing while claiming to believe another. Of course, adult entertainment must be used responsibly. Like any product or information created exclusively for adults, children and those not mature enough to handle adult entertainment should not have access to it.

A series of laws were created in recent years that effectively encourage adult sites to create safeguards against children and those unable to handle porn from having access to it. The system will never be perfect, but it has largely taken pressure off the situation so that those who enjoy adult sites and those who oppose them can co-exist peacefully.

Today adult sites are more professional than ever, delivering a vast choice of entertainment that is unsurpassed in its quality. We truly live in a time when adult entertainment has come into its own and is easily available to anyone who desires it.

When one really examines the numbers, the porn industry–while a subject of fascination–is every bit as marginal as it seems at first glance.