Harvard Business School study looks at online porno sales

A new study by Harvard School of Business’ associate professor Benjamin Edelman examined online pornography website membership trends across the United States, revealing a startling picture of porn consumption.

While Michigan ranks near the bottom of the list for paid memberships, Edelman’s study found that many red states rank near the top, with Utah taking the top slot. In addition, urban residents are more likely than rural residents to be member in a paid porno site. He also looked at the porno-web surfing habits based on the 2004 presidential election. Here he found that residents in states that voted for George W. Bush tend to visit wife swapping websites, while those from states supporting John Kerry tended to go to escort websites.

Now what I found most interesting is that Edelman’s study is a section correlating the Pew Study with online porno habits. The Pew study asked respondents whether agreed, etc. on a series of statements:

Even today miracles are performed by the power of God.
I never doubt the existence of God.
Prayer is an important part of my daily life.
I have old-fashioned values about family and marriage.
AIDS might be God’s punishment for immoral sexual behavior.

Taken the respondents who said they completely agree or mostly agree with the above statements Edelman made a startling discovery. Online porno use soars in those who said they agreed with those statements. Another interesting revelation: most of the subscriptions in areas where respondents agreed with the statements above started on Sundays.

There was also a small correlation between an increase in membership in adult websites and the passage of anti-gay marriage amendments.

Edelman made his study based on studies from marketing companies and analysis of zip codes.