Who buys online porn?

Not you, I know, but everyone must be curious about who would buy such a thing, especially as so much of it is available for free (and sometimes even without asking for it). Benjamin Edelman uses zip (postal) code data from subscriptions at a major provider of online adult entertainment to reveal some interesting insights. While he cannot know anything about the characteristics of those buying the services, he knows the characteristics of those living within the same zip code. Thus, we may learn something about the likely characteristics of the buyers, or about the composition of the social environment applying "peer-pressure" on the buyer.

Edelman finds that the highest share of buyers lies in Utah, a results well publicized in the media. But there is more to learn than this. In particular, religiosity has no impact, except that Sunday subscription starts are lower is religious zip codes. Political inclination, as measured by presidential votes, also has no impact (which may surprise people on way or the other). However, states that enacted more conservative provisions regarding the defense of marriage or were people have more conservative views of religion tend to have more subscribers. Other characteristics that lead to higher subscription rates: broadband access (although there could be reverse causality here), higher average household income, more young residents, more college degrees, less graduate degrees, urban areas, not yet married, more people engaged in community initiatives.

But one has to keep in mind that there is little variation of subscription rates, for example across states. The results above should therefore not allow you to establish whether your neighbor subscribes to dirty sites with much certainty.