Cyber-porn on Planes and Other Technophobic Weirdness

Kevin Maney sighs: Apparently it is a rule of society that when something that's always been possible is done with new technology, people who aren't comfortable with the technology get freaked out.

The latest example: American Airlines flight attendants are raising worries that people using AA's new in-flight Wi-Fi will use it to watch porn. The big question for the flight attendants: Why weren't you worried about people using their laptops or portable video players to watch DVDs of "Snakes In Your A**"? Or, even before the advent of DVDs, wasn't it entirely possible for a passenger to bring a stash of Hustler magazines to keep his mind off the tedium of a NY-LA flight?

I'd venture that most of the time, passengers don't indulge in porn because American society frowns on public porn-ogling. Now, on a Japan Air Lines flight, all bets are off.

This strikes me as similar to politicans calling for bans on talking on cell phones while driving. How come they never sought to ban talking to fellow passengers while driving?