Cover image from New York Times coverage on the Real Doll factory. 2 minute read.
According to a new report, about 27% of Millennials say they think it’ll be normal and acceptable in the near future to have friendships and romantic relationships with robots instead of humans. Crazy, right?
The report was created by Paris-based Havas, and examined the future of artificial intelligence and people’s attitudes to the future of technology. The multinational communications company surveyed 12,000 people of mixed ages worldwide, and had some very interesting findings overall. For example, it found that in the UK, men were three times as likely to agree they could have a relationship with a robot in the future, compared to women.
But aside from robot-relationships, the report also had several other predictions for the future.
Related: Sex Doll Sharing Service In China Shut Down Just Days After It Launched
The data suggest that in the UK, men are also more likely than women to prefer their social media lives to their real ones, with nearly 20% preferring the virtual world of social media, reports the Daily Mail. The survey also largely revealed that 70% of respondents believe that smartphones are weakening human connections with each other, rather than strengthening them.
It’s almost like having a screen in front of your face all day, looking at unrealistic and Photoshopped images actually drives a wedge in between real-life relationships…weird.
Is Having A Sex Robot Ethical?
Needless to say, the prospect of sex with robots is unquestionably something that has been influenced by the normalization of pornography in our society and represents new ways to justify the exploitation of human beings, if not in person, certainly in idea. And what a dangerous idea it is.
Some think that the ethics of watching virtual reality porn—simulating sex acts with a fake, 3D person—are no different than the ethics of having sex with a robot. After all, people are constantly looking for new ways to “spice up” their sex lives. This is proven by the $15 billion dollar and growing sex toy industry, and now, it’s proven by growing interest in lifelike sex dolls that will eventually be able to talk and respond to verbal commands.
Spain’s sex doll brothel that opened up shop this year is just the first public example of the fast-growing trend of sex that’s removed from intimacy with another person. Now, manufacturers around the world are working to create uncannily realistic sex robots programmed to fulfill the fantasies of people who want to get with a lifeless machine.
Robot Relationships? We’re Already There.
Think about this: you’re staring at a screen, right now, reading this. You’ll probably go on to look at something else after this or scroll through social media. It’s just what our generation does, in our spare time and in moments throughout our day. Mindless scrolling on different sites likely takes up hours of our day.
So, while the internet has paved the way for unparalleled opportunity to learn new things and meet new people, technology has robbed us of valuable time to connect with others. How much of our time do we spend staring at a smart device rather than into the eyes of the person right in front of us? Many in our society are freaked out about the idea of a relationship with a robot, but how many of us already have one with the device we’re holding in our hands and scrolling through right now? How many in our society go to their device, rather than a person, when they need love or affirmation—probably from porn performers whose real names they don’t even know?
Related: Meet The UK Dad With A Sex Robot That Hangs Out With His Kids
As a collective society, the sad reality is that we spend more quality time with devices who probably know more about us than even our closest friends and family than we do with real people. With our present society in perspective, and considering the fact that technology is literally being designed to replace real relationships, how far off is it really that humans will turn to robots in the future for romance and friendship rather than real people?
That doesn’t sound like a world we want to live in, so we’re shaking things up and raising awareness on the ways porn and technology are dividing relationships. We can’t be okay with devices taking the place of real, healthy human relationships.
Whether it’s a computer screen or a sex doll, we need to be educated and take a stand for healthy sexuality and human connection. Let’s all decide to disconnect from fantasy, and connect to reality.
Your Support Matters Now More Than Ever
Most kids today are exposed to porn by the age of 12. By the time they’re teenagers, 75% of boys and 70% of girls have already viewed itRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy —often before they’ve had a single healthy conversation about it.
Even more concerning: over half of boys and nearly 40% of girls believe porn is a realistic depiction of sexMartellozzo, E., Monaghan, A., Adler, J. R., Davidson, J., Leyva, R., & Horvath, M. A. H. (2016). “I wasn’t sure it was normal to watch it”: A quantitative and qualitative examination of the impact of online pornography on the values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of children and young people. Middlesex University, NSPCC, & Office of the Children’s Commissioner.Copy . And among teens who have seen porn, more than 79% of teens use it to learn how to have sexRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy . That means millions of young people are getting sex ed from violent, degrading content, which becomes their baseline understanding of intimacy. Out of the most popular porn, 33%-88% of videos contain physical aggression and nonconsensual violence-related themesFritz, N., Malic, V., Paul, B., & Zhou, Y. (2020). A descriptive analysis of the types, targets, and relative frequency of aggression in mainstream pornography. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(8), 3041-3053. doi:10.1007/s10508-020-01773-0Copy Bridges et al., 2010, “Aggression and Sexual Behavior in Best-Selling Pornography Videos: A Content Analysis,” Violence Against Women.Copy .
From increasing rates of loneliness, depression, and self-doubt, to distorted views of sex, reduced relationship satisfaction, and riskier sexual behavior among teens, porn is impacting individuals, relationships, and society worldwideFight the New Drug. (2024, May). Get the Facts (Series of web articles). Fight the New Drug.Copy .
This is why Fight the New Drug exists—but we can’t do it without you.
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