Technology And The SMP

tintedlipbalm · 2016-11-16T05:16:22+00:00

I was writing a long comment earlier but got too distracted to finish it, and I don't think anyone has mentioned for question 2, the expectation of women sending risqué and nudes to boyfriends due to porn and hookup culture. I think women are doing it younger and more often. There are more repercussions I can think about but can't address as fully, but this is an instance where I think women compete more 'directly' with other sexual media their guy consumes.

PhantomDream09 · 2016-11-15T23:35:11+00:00

I think social media is providing a platform for all women (whether plain, ugly, or gorgeous). On the one hand you can find droves of people preaching the 'fat, loud, and proud' agenda, but you can also find women that specialize in fitness or beauty. At the same time, women can find others that strongly resemble their base features (hair type, height, eye shape, skin tone etc). It's also easier to seem higher value in one specific area, which allows you to offset your overall impression online. For example, a woman may have gorgeous nails and she happens to be very skilled at painting them. Someone else may have incredible hair.

I think it's all of the above. Our awareness of all the extremes have increased, as well as our ability to hide, blend, and specialize.

Despite all this, I don't think men have really changed all that much. They can find specialized forms of porn more readily, and all men have physical preferences. When it comes to dating though, the visual and behavioral preferences start to compete and affect things. Online dating heavily favors women by and large, which I think is unfortunate.

I don't feel pressured to compete against women, and I know I'm in the minority on this topic. I don't feel anxiety (or shame) when I see a model in a magazine, or an actress. I've never watched porn, but I've seen Game of Thrones, Rome, and a few other movies with steamy scenes, so that's what I'm basing my response on. I don't feel threatened, or insecure, and I'm not at all worried about what the porn world is doing.

am3liia · 2016-11-15T23:38:55+00:00

People only post their best on social media. A woman may post her prettiest crafts, nicest looking recipes, and only the most flattering photos. Plus, with filters and photoshop, it's easy to make things look even more appealing. On one hand, I think people can reaching for an impossible standard. But, it's also really easy to find examples of goals to reach. You just type #anything and thousands of images appear.

As far as porn goes - I think the biggest effect it's had is normalizing at lot of sexual acts that use to be more taboo. A lot of men want things like anal sex and threesomes because they see them in porn, and women feel the need to offer these things to compete. Another thing I've heard is that a lot of "barely legal" girls in porn are actually played by girls in their mid 20s, so I wonder if this affects how men estimate a woman's age.

BellaScarletta · 2016-11-15T23:31:34+00:00

I love it!

Do you feel like social media and the internet in general increases the sense of competition among women?

Without a doubt. It has never been easier to compare ourselves to other, more idealized, women. All I have to do to scout my competition is click #GirlsWhoLift or #MUA on Instagram and bam, instant inadequacy or validation - all at my fingertips.

How are male expectations of women being altered in this digital age?

Heavily. I think the only evidence you need is icons of generations past. There have always been women who mastered the art of self-creation, but I think it's really exacerbated today. Models of even just 20 years ago looked far more based in reality than they do today. I think it gives men an over-inflated expectation of the everyday woman, but on the pro-side, it also places a healthy incentive for women to engage in self-care. But between extreme bodybuilding, makeup contouring, photoshop, and other arrays of smoke and mirrors...there is a larger element that isn't really realistic for your everyday woman to aspire to, and creates a disconnect in 'expectations vs reality'.

As makeup, plastic surgery, and cosmetic procedures in general continue to advance, what consequences (positive and negative) will we see in the SMP?

On the positive side, I think like I said above, it's more difficult for women to be completely neglectful. Men have more access than ever to seeing the competition. On the flipside, it creates an arms race of attraction that is in many ways unsustainable. I also think it creates an undue pressure to look perfect all the time. It's important to care for yourself, but it's no good if you're afraid to let your man see you in the morning without makeup on because you look like a completely different person.

What impact do you think the advancements in the porn industry is having on the SMP? Do you personally feel pressure to compare to those women or have you seen this affect someone you know?

I actually can't say that I relate to this. I think a lot of mainstream porn is really overdone and I think a lot of men know it; that doesn't mean they necessarily mind it, but I don't see a rational man conflating over-exaggerated porn sex with actual male-female relations. Also, a lot of the actresses look so trashy I don't think they are even in the pool of women a man would want to bring home to mama. There are certainly specific productions or porn stars that break my generalizations, but largely I think it's a self-contained environment of sexual depravity - I'm quite open to being challenged on this though!

MountainsAndMeadows · 2016-11-16T16:22:16+00:00

Do you feel like social media and the internet in general increases the sense of competition among women?

Absolutely. I think we mostly view ANY other woman as competition. We place them either above or below us. Social media saturates us in it.

What impact are advancements in the porn industry having on the SMP? Do you personally feel pressure to compare to those women or have you seen this affect someone you know?

I never identify with women in porn so there is no pressure or comparing. they might as well be robots. Women who hate porn because they don't like their own body or don't feel attractive to their partner are barking up the wrong tree.

Camille11325 · 2016-11-16T03:56:25+00:00

My own thoughts on the questions:

Yes I definitely think that social media and the internet enhances the sense of female competition. I feel like before social media you really only were directly competing with the people in your social circle, neighborhood, church, local groups, family, etc. (both for status and in the SMP) but now you have all of those groups + people you normally would have lost touch with + social media influencers + celebrities + other women who you never would have met/heard of if it weren't for the internet. Basically the more women you are exposed to, the more pressure many feel to measure up or surpass everyone else.
I feel like men expect women to be more casual when it comes to dating. Texting, "netflix and chill", online interractions, etc. are so different from the traditional dates that I at least remember dreaming about as a kid. I also think that the normalisation of photo editing apps gives guys an unrealistic idea of what women in general look like. (I don't have a problem with the photo thing, just noticing the trend, I think it's great that we have this ability).
I think the bar will be set way higher when it comes to appearance since plastic surgery, body sculpting, laser treatments, and more are becoming the norm. I'm really excited about the technological innovations happening in the beauty world and think it's great that we can alter our appearance so that we can look exactly how we want. This will mean that the difference between a 9 and a 7 will be even greater though. When there are more women who look flawless, even those who are above average in attractiveness will pale in comparison.
I agree with /u/am3liia about how porn is shaping what men expect from their girlfriends and wives. As VR and sexbots become a thing I feel like low value and average men may turn to that when they are single (instead of trying to get ONS/FWB) so that will affect the low value women who were occasionally matching up with them. If the technology can satisfy their desires then they won't be as motivated to pursue IRL women because it would take way more effort for them to succeed in the SMP. I am just thinking outloud though, totally open to this being challened!

hostwithmost · 2016-11-16T04:24:04+00:00

I love all the answers here already and agree with most of them. Here are some of my thoughts that haven't been voiced yet.

Do you feel like social media and the internet in general increases the sense of competition among women?

Yes. I think Cindy Crawford said something like "I'd love to look like Cindy Crawford on the magazine cover too!". While women can draw inspiration to improve in the SMP in response to social media, no one can compete with the two dimensional perfect images. But most all, including myself, will continue to.

How are male expectations of women being altered in this digital age?

Less experienced men get even more intimidated by carefully curated accounts. A careful man would immediately see through any attention seeking behavior during vetting. I cannot believe "Netflix and chill" is such a widely accepted phenomenon. I think it's creating undue pressure on girls who might have waited on physical intimacy- I mean sex is so hyper normalized!

As makeup, plastic surgery, and cosmetic procedures in general continue to advance, what consequences (positive and negative) will we see in the SMP?

We will continue to look younger and at prime for a longer amount of time. This already is and will continue to be the indicator of any disparity in economic means. Historically, women have been able to "jump" social class based on looks - ladies of the court, pageants, trophy wives etc. As /u/Camille11325 said the difference between a 9 and 7 will increase. So I think this ability of women to "jump" social classes will be minimized.

What impact are advancements in the porn industry having on the SMP? Do you personally feel pressure to compare to those women or have you seen this affect someone you know?

Perhaps a surge in MGTOW. I do not feel pressure to compare to those women but I have taken notes on acts of pleasure.

Title	Technology And The SMP
Author	Camille11325
Upvotes	8
Comments	22
Date	November 15, 2016 11:23 PM UTC (9 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/RedPillWives
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/RedPillWives/comments/5d5u8h/technology_and_the_smp/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/RedPillWives/technology-and-the-smp.209393 https://theredarchive.com/post/209393

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