Porn yes, vids & music, no

Downloading porn is okay, but downloading copyrighted video or music is less so, according to a new survey.These results are the second in a series of polls on morality, conducted by research company UMR.The poll shows 41% of New Zealanders think that it is morally acceptable for a single person to view pornography, compared with 13% who see downloading copyrighted video as acceptable and 18% who consider downloading copyrighted music acceptable.Downloading copyrighted video or music even is less acceptable than a married person viewing pornography online without the knowledge of their spouse (21% think that this is morally acceptable).Although 69% think that it is acceptable for a single person to flirt with another internet user, just six percent think it is morally acceptable for a married person to flirt with another internet user without their spouse’s knowledge.When divided by gender, the results show that 56% of men think it is acceptable for a single person to view pornography online, compared with 26% of women. Similarly, 31% of men are comfortable with a married people viewing pornography online without the knowledge of their spouse, compared with just 10% of women.However, the survey shows that seeing music and video downloads as morally unacceptable does not necessarily prevent people from making such downloads, with substantial proportions of those who have download music or video from unofficial sites nonetheless saying that such activity is morally unacceptable.For some reason, Wellington residents emerge as particularly tolerant on these issues: 92% are comfortable with single people using internet dating services, 53% think it is acceptable for a single person to view pornography online, and 28% are comfortable with a married person viewing pornography online without the knowledge of their spouse.

The survey questioned a representative sample of 1000 New Zealanders from 20th to 26th November 2009.