We are one of nature’s few species that mate in private. Despite humanity’s remarkable diversity, there are few cultures where coitus is carried out in plain sight. And, even in those few cultures, some effort to conceal mating is generally made.

This makes us a prude among animals, who are broadly far less shy about their mating behavior. (The evolutionary reasons for the prudishness of Homo sapiens are somewhat obscure, but, in a sentence, mating privately may have circumvented some jealousies and helped us cooperate.)

An interesting fact is downstream of this: our ancestors would have seldom, if ever, seen anyone other than themselves and their own partners having sex.

This is only surprising in light of pornography. Really, how many times have you seen another pair of humans mating outside of digital media? The technologies of photography, and then film, and then the internet, represent a dramatic reworking of the visual life of our species. We did not evolve to be sexual spectators, and now, in America, nearly half of men and one in six women see a full show weekly.

While I think we should be cautious of moral panic, we should wonder whether there are any consequences to this sudden change...