Expressing pleasure and avoiding engagement in online adult video comment sections

Abstract

Online video pornography websites have grown into a key online industry and location for pornography consumption. While much work has been done investigating reception of online video generally, discourse analysis of comments and interaction around online pornography remains rare. This article focuses on comments on adult videos, comparing and contrasting the comments on adult videos with other online video sites. The goal is to identify and explain differences and similarities in the content of comments and interaction. The article therefore analyses 22,562 comments taken from the 100 most-viewed videos on the popular porn-hosting website, Pornhub. In contrast to studies of non-pornographic online video pages, analysis shows little interaction among users in comments sections and that offense is largely absent. Building on this analysis, I then discuss why offense does not arise in the comments. Findings suggest that the location of the comments at the point of pornography consumption affects the comment content, resulting in a discourse of solitary pleasure and fantasy rather than community engagement.