WWW- Although widely promoted, viewing pornographic websites is considered to be morally unacceptable by approximately 73 percent of U.S. adults.

The findings are based on a survey conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by Morality in Media. The levels of acceptability fluctuate depending on the demographic variables of gender, age, education, income, political affiliation, marital status and religion.

When posed with the question: “Do you consider it to be morally acceptable to view pornographic websites and videos?” — 21 percent of the 997 respondents said “yes,” 73 percent said “no,” 4 percent said “not sure,” and 2 percent refused to answer.

Findings also revealed that older female Americans are more likely to consider viewing pornography unacceptable, whereas younger male Americans are more likely to consider it acceptable.

“It is disturbing that so many younger males think it is morally acceptable to view pornography,” said Robert W. Peters, [pictured] president of Morality in Media. “Since males are vulnerable to visual depictions of sex, however, perhaps it should not come as a surprise.”

In addition, the lower the education level of a respondent, the higher the acceptability; and the lower the income, the lower the acceptability. Married adults also find viewing pornographic websites and videos less morally acceptable than single adults.

Peters points out that many long-term porn users who are addicts actually hate what they do. But despite their hate, Peter explained that, “In the ‘2006 State of the Industry’ report, the Free Speech Coalition [the ‘trade association of the adult entertainment industry’] states, ‘Adult entertainment has become widely accepted by Americans across the nation, especially in recent years.'”

Therefore, this perceived acceptability only spurs the entertainment media to promote pornography and porn stars.