We are all consumers. As modern, 21st century human beings, we must be, for we have basic needs that we ourselves - more often than not - are unable to meet (pragmatically), and this positions us to take on the role of a typical western consumer (purchasing food, clothing, or shelter).
Many of you know how cheap I am relative to fast food, and I'm like this because I revile in the ubiquity of retail storefronts. For they serve as a constant reminder of how costly it is to consume (for I too, ain't no farmer). Therefore due to this ubiquity, avoiding this 2021 retail reality is quite difficult (if not impossible) to achieve, for there are so many storefronts - main street & virtual available to us (w/ more and more coming each day) that cater to just about everything imaginable. Thusly, I SO OFTEN FEEL TRAPPED WITHIN THIS RETAIL ECONOMY, and in turn protest by keeping my wallet close to my vest.
So what is retail, and why does its ubiquity offend me so?
Retail, in concept, is as follows: precisely packaged, marketed, and pitched goods at the very top of a supply chain. As a side note to that statement, for the wealthy, methodically / unabashedly paying retail price is often (though certainly not always) seen as a sign of "what it means to be" truly affluent. As such, retail represents the most convenient, most polished, most effortless consumer transaction available (that also happens to be the most pricey), and this is because the retail pricing structure is so heavily layered (from deep within) relative to its specific narrative (supply chain arc). A narrative that had to take place (& justifiably be paid for) in order to bring a consumer all of the convenience, polish, and effortlessness therein.
There's Rob's summary of the concept of retail from Econ 101.
I want to revisit this statement before we go any further (expounding on more econ lessons in relation to Internet porn), for I believe it speaks to the notion of entitlement which is just about as pagan a term as there's ever been, and we don't need to miss that.
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Working at the Chick-A-Fil in Northpark Mall throughout high school gave the teenage version of Rob a firsthand look at retail fast food (fried chicken sandwiches and fried potatoes) consumers.
Chick-A-Fil is in line with other companies like Applebee's and Chili's (franchised restaurant chains) or Nissan in that they appeal equally to both whites and blacks. And this is a critical cultural accomplishment for these companies relative to the massive monetary success they've achieved. For so many companies that set up retail operations here in the Deep South ultimately fail because their business model isn't successful in "traveling" between races.
Therefore, I as a 15-17-year-old, was exposed to all manner of economic class (impoverished blacks to wealthy whites) of Mississippian whilst working part-time at the Chick-A-Fil.
I can recall one busy summer Saturday at lunchtime, watching in awe as a rich, white (& very tall) woman exclaimed repeatedly to my cashier colleague, "I don't care what it costs, just give it to me like I asked!"
What she was referring to was a uniquely customized order (for her and her beautiful - and all very tall - family) that had my co-worker befuddled.
In a similar vein, I sold a minivan (I was a Chrysler / Plymouth new car salesman one summer whilst in college) to a ostentatiously rich, white guy during the long since defunct "Mississippi Fairgrounds Sale" of 1991. After he'd decisively agreed on a final purchase price, I lead him to the "Business Office Tent" (in order for him to write a check for the purchase).
To my horror, in spite of the line of customers waiting it out quietly under the big top (there in the stifling summer heat), he traipsed directly to the front of the line. And after pushing a lady aside, he sat down in one of the two "Accounting Guy's" chairs and proceeded to carry out all the necessary paperwork relative to his cash purchase / retail transaction for his new luxury minivan (1991 Chrysler Town & Country).
From there, all I could do (as a 19-year-old) was hope I wouldn't be fired (I wasn't) once the dealership I was working for returned to its Highway 80 location the following week.
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Western corporations most salient, reliable consumer are children (& adults who consume like children).
There's a nugget of truth from Econ 101.
Why is this? Because children embody the notion of entitlement. If you're short on understanding what the word entitlement means, simply think of a (western) child's self-centered outlook on almost everything.
Too, children have little to no impulse control, and this is why so much retail merch is displayed prominently at the check-out line within most retail big box stores / restaurants / convenience stores. Retail impulse buys account for a massive amount of revenue for companies. And, it's all exorbitantly overpriced incidentals (junk drinks, junk food, junk magazines, junk toys) that children (& adults who consume like children), in particular, can't seem to resist.
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Now, let's take these econ concepts that we've reviewed / explained so far and attempt to apply them to Internet porn.
Firstly, the Internet represents the highest echelon of retail. It is not only the retail zenith but the city floating in the sky. And primarily, this is due to the illusion (I can't stress that enough) of privacy that the Internet provides the consumer. For what is the most bothersome aspect of having a storefront retail experience (big box / restaurant / convenience or specialty store)?
Zero privacy. Instead, you're inconvenienced by all of those other consumers (of various races / socioeconomic backgrounds) that you're forced to share the retail store with.
And that's so very...unentitled. And those folks are so very difficult to "justify" all those impulse buys to (whilst around them).
Combine that Internet consuming "luxury" (privacy) with the impulse buying setup of impulse buying setups. For it's simply a click, and another click. And one more click. And everything just magically appears (as you've ordered it up) right in front of your eyes. And from there, you're experiencing the novel giddiness of technological entitlement.
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A side note:
Back when I consumed mucho amounts (hours and hours) of gay porn online, it took me awhile to figure out a bizarre physiological side effect.
For I'd come away (sorry) with super dry eyes. So dry, in fact, that I was unable to do much of anything to stop the intense stinging (& subsequent redness) for hours on end. Therefore, my only recourse was to lie down with my eyes shut.
What was happening was as follows: Whilst consuming Internet porn, my brain was so pleased with its private, overly entitled viewing experience of naked people having sex that it simply told my eyelids to cease blinking throughout. Therefore, for hours on end, I'd blink far, far less than needed to keep my eyes healthily moisturized. And, of course, that no blinking Internet porn consumption session took quite a toll on my eyeballs. Ouch.
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One final econ 101 nugget for you here at the wrap up of this post.
Nintendo keeps a steady revenue stream intact by selling Mario, Link, and Zelda. (Those same tired cartoon characters from the '80s.) These are intellectual properties that are owned by the company, and this is what consumers (of all ages) purchase from Nintendo (mostly around the holidays) in the form of video games.
Nintendo also happens to sell video game consoles, but these are loss leaders and not part of their forecasted revenue stream. A loss leader is a retail gimmick that companies use to capture consumers indirectly. As such, companies position loss leaders to handcuff consumers into only purchasing their intellectual property (because it won't work at all or nearly as well elsewhere).
Think of the Nintendo Switch. This console may very well become the most purchased in the history of console sales (in the next few years). The Nintendo Switch is a loss leader for Nintendo. As such, it's sold at a loss to them in order to get more and more of the devices into the hands of consumers - all over the western world.
Why is this important to Nintendo?
Because it handcuffs the consumer to Nintendo's tried & true intellectual property: Mario, Link, and Zelda.
From there, Nintendo sells retailed priced video games that only work on the Nintendo Switch. And arguably, most of these games are simply upgraded rehashes of the same platforming, FPS, third-person action / adventure concept. Concepts brought to life via an Italian plumber, pointy-eared elf teenager & his bug-eyed girlfriend.
How might this translate to Internet porn?
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There're only so many ways to fuck. And there're only so many types of individuals one can observe fucking.
Internet porn consumers know this. And their brains know it too. Yet, there are characters (porn models) online who provide a somewhat familiar narrative (story) to the fucking. Let's dub them Bettie Breast Implant and Henry Bigdick.
Porn tube channels (offering loss leader "free porn") will only satisfy a consumer for so long, taking their favorite hardworking porn models into account. No doubt, these consumers are eventually going to desire more. More intense, more extreme, more hard, hardcore. Or perhaps it's just that continual craving for the very latest performance from that specific porn model(s).
But this is going to retail cost them. Plus, it may very well usher them into promiscuous behaviors as a result as they fall further and further down the rabbit hole.
Sexual intimacy was created by God to only be experienced - as a distinct representation of Christ's relationship to his church - within the marriage bed. Husband and wife together. Working collectively to pleasure each other.
It's not watching naked people fuck. It's not lust. It's not the same rehashed scenario scripted out by Bettie and Henry in the least. It's a beautiful, unique experience that embodies / represents love to the highest degree. (Even if there's no money shot.)
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So what's the takeaway?
Thanks to such the individual novelty embodied within today's Internet-capable technology, many of us are behaving like idiots. Idiots who're acquiescing more and more towards discarding any remaining semblance of our adult sensibilities. And we're all being screwed by tech-savvy companies. Companies much more interested in their bottom line than our well-being. As such, we're now within the golden age of the entitled, retail consumer. It's an age built on the illusion that we're actually fully in control (& completely comprehend the methodology behind) of our own hyper-convenient retail consumption.
Unfortunately, that's the farthest thing from the truth. We have lost all control, and very few understand who's actual behind the curtain. Therefore, until you wake up and realize just how uninterested these companies are in you and yours well-being, you're simply one additional dumbass sheep that's "addicted" to Internet porn.
Wake up! Grow up! Set yourself apart! As a Christian, you are a child of the King! Be holy because you are holy.
You're not rich. You (& I) have been duped.
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