Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “The Butterfly Effect” as Want to Read:
The Butterfly Effect
Enlarge cover
Rate this book
Clear rating
Open Preview

The Butterfly Effect

3.93  ·  Rating details ·  4,153 ratings  ·  477 reviews
From best-selling writer Jon Ronson and the executive producer behind the TED Radio Hour and Invisibilia, Audible Originals presents a new seven-episode series, The Butterfly Effect with Jon Ronson.
[Contains explicit content] Free for a limited time, hear the story of what happened when the tech industry gave the world what it wanted: free porn. Lives were mangled. Fortune
...more
Audible Audio, 3 pages
Published July 26th 2017 by Audible Originals
More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about The Butterfly Effect, please sign up.
Popular Answered Questions
Lola Small In my opinion I don't think that the case of the autistic child and the pastor are issues concerned with the porn industry. Rather the autistic child'…moreIn my opinion I don't think that the case of the autistic child and the pastor are issues concerned with the porn industry. Rather the autistic child's mental health issues used pornography as an outlet, there's nothing to indicate that he understood what pornography meant or that there is any specific reason why he was using pornography. The sex offending laws don't exist to root out pornography users rather they are a positivist approach to the interpretation of the law that favours absolutism. There's no way that in the context of the case that he should have been put on the sex offenders list rather than offered mental health help. It's just another symptom of the broken american experiment. The boy wasn't even sexually active and the lawyers didn't even care about mental illness. Weird how every time we hear about gun crime we hear about mental illness right but in a case of a diagnosed mental health sufferer, the law just ignored it?
Second with the pastor - again whilst porn advertises ashley madison, the show alluded to the fact that there aren't as many women as men (female bots) and that it seems to be particularly men who are lonely using this because it's not just about sex. So in terms of sympathy - yes I absolutely sympathized but I don't believe these stories have a linear nor complex causality with pornography rather the link is tentative.(less)

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30
Average rating 3.93  · 
Rating details
 ·  4,153 ratings  ·  477 reviews


More filters
 | 
Sort order
Start your review of The Butterfly Effect
Andrew Smith
A compilation comprising a number of short documentary episodes focused on the impact of free pornography, now so widely available via the Internet. We are introduced, through a series of interviews, to a young Canadian man who seems to have kicked off the phenomenon and we also get to meet others who are either involved in the production of the porn films or are otherwise impacted by them. A porn filmmaker rues the fact that a film he shot two months ago is already available for nothing via the ...more
Sam Quixote
Apr 02, 2019 rated it liked it
Jon Ronson investigates the impact that free porn streaming sites like PornHub have had on the porn industry in the Audible Original audiobook, The Butterfly Effect. And it’s an a’ight listen.

As you’d expect, a lot of the people making money from selling porn via VHS, DVD, etc. lost big and there doesn’t seem to be much money in the more traditional types of movies given that a phone and an internet connection basically do for most nowadays! As such, Ronson’s conclusions are fairly mundane and
...more
Erin
Oct 13, 2017 rated it really liked it
Audio book narrated by Jon Ronson 3h 25 min

Once and awhile, I receive friend requests that state interest in friendship because of my "diverse reading tastes." I am truly moved by that remark because it is a challenge to "keep it fresh" Well, I am sure that no one, let alone me, would see me enjoying, let alone reading/listening to an audio book about the porn industry. But after reading a couple reviews, I was definitely willing to give "The Butterfly Effect" a try. Especially because it was
...more
Christine
THANK YOU, Audible for this free book! WOW! I honestly don't know how to express my feelings about my experience with this book. It is the first book I've ever listened to from start to finish in one "sitting". I was absolutely sucked into this, and was completely unaware of the affects that free porn has had on people and society. I guess I just never gave it a second thought. My mind was blown away by certain things I heard... Saddened by others... And even smiled at times. Boy, I will certain ...more
Diana Long
Jul 28, 2017 rated it it was amazing
198. This was available free through Audible. The subtitle is “Who Really Pays the Price for Porn?” This was something I wasn't expecting or even thought about before but in all seriousness this appears to be a problem. I listed the book as an expose or an investigation on the subject of Porn and it was not only educational but enlightening. I recommend this work as awareness reading, you may not think it necessary but you never know.
David
Sep 02, 2017 rated it liked it
Jon Ronson is like Mary Roach, who writes quirky little non-fiction books exploring some ostensibly fascinating topic with a sense of humor. You'd think a series about the porn industry and the unexpected effects of streaming porn would be more interesting than it is, but I found his analysis, such as it is, to be fairly shallow. Mostly this series of Audible podcasts follows a number of interesting anecdotes, staring with the founder of Pornhub, which apparently accounts for a majority of all p ...more
Kaitlin
Jan 08, 2019 rated it liked it
I picked this up for free on Audible and I have to admit I find documentaries and interviews on taboo subjects fascinating. This is a collection of interviews and author thoughts about the porn industry and the way that it developed after the introduction of free online porn streaming. Personally I don't know too much about how the industry evolved other than that it has become easier than ever to access porn online, but I had heard of some of the sites quoted and referenced in this series, and ...more
Austin
Jul 29, 2017 rated it it was amazing
This is why Jon Ronson is the best journalist since Mike Royko. Jon, you magnificent son of a gunna. You tricked me into listening to my first podcast. I still think they are kind of cheesy and all I can picture is a team of douche power suits editing episodes to make them as sensational as possible to keep you coming back for more. What I've always loved about Jon is that he investigates topics that interest him and each one splinters off into a million different areas of interest. I try to rem ...more
Chris
Nov 02, 2017 rated it it was ok
I'm not quite sure why I decided to listen to this. I've heard of Jon Ronson (which I always want to mispronounce as Ron Jonson) and have seen his work advertised, and I think this one was free.

If you ever wanted to understand the effects of "disruption" of industries because of things enabled by the internet, then this is an interesting example. The subject matter happens to be the porn industry, which might make you a bit uncomfortable to read.

It's really just a podcast series that has been c
...more
Laura
Feb 24, 2019 rated it really liked it
As someone who is anti-porn and has seen and felt the negative effects it can have on people and their interactions with others, I found this fascinating. It was well executed and easy to follow. I really enjoyed how everyone's perspectives were shared in a fair and unbiased way so that I didn't get too caught up in any opinion. If you're at all interested in societies changing views on sex then I'd definitely recommend listening to this.
Crystal Starr Light
Dec 20, 2018 rated it really liked it
Bullet Review:

An example of a freebie that isn't complete trash, this is a fascinating insight into the way internet porn has changed the industry in ways no one could have expected - from the livelihoods of the porn stars and creators themselves to the young men and women who now struggle to perform.
Simon
Aug 08, 2017 rated it it was amazing
Jon Ronson is one of my go-to authors. I just love his eye when it comes to exploring a topic. This documentary is just flat out fascinating. Great stuff.
Angus McKeogh
Sep 16, 2017 rated it it was amazing
Per the usual with Ronson. Crazy interesting topics. Unique. Well written. Stories of the unknown. Heartfelt and sad. So different. The Butterfly Effect about free porn on the internet. Loved it.
Theresa
Mar 16, 2020 rated it it was ok
This was interesting to listen to but didn't really go into as much depth as I would have liked.
Justine
Aug 29, 2017 rated it it was amazing
I saw this was a free download on Audible and I thought why not?
It was so good! Informative and funny, I'll be looking into more by Jon Ronson. Brilliant. This is a top "read" for me this year.
Ellen Gail
Jan 29, 2020 rated it did not like it
Well, it’s not an audiobook. It’s a subpar podcast, basically just a bunch of interview clips that aren’t given much insight. It feels pointless and honestly, you’re not missing anything if you skip it.

Thank goodness it was free.
Chris Chapman
Jun 21, 2018 rated it really liked it
Shelves: zz-yr-2018
Fabian Thylmann should be as famous as Mark Zuckerberg. He launched an internet service which completely revolutionised its sector and made him possibly as rich as Zuckerberg.

The reason most people haven't heard of him is he pioneered free mass-streamed internet porn. A very important point made repeatedly here is the hypocrisy of people who use this stuff but want to have absolutely nothing to do with it, or the people who work in it, outside of the context of viewing porn. Thus, for example,
...more
OonaReads
Feb 08, 2019 rated it really liked it
Weirdly fascinating journalistic investigation into the effects free porn had on people and the industry.
Beau
Sep 23, 2018 rated it really liked it
Insightful. Uncomfortable. Saddening. There was a plethora of emotional responses to this audiobook. But one this is for sure; Ronson takes you to places where you feel out of your depth. His storytelling and reporting helped me to clarify a few thoughts in my head around the porn industry, challenged me on some misconceptions, and left me with all sorts of questions and thoughts to ponder on.
Sterling
Aug 08, 2017 rated it it was amazing
I had no idea what this book was about when I started reading it. It was free on Audible and it was only 4 hours so I decided to give it a listen and see if it was worth the time. I really enjoyed this story, if I had known what it was about I don't think I would have listened to it but I am glad I did. Jon does a fantastic job examining the link between free porn and the consequences of that on society. If you like non fiction/history and social science I would highly recommend this book. Great ...more
Freesiab (Bookish Review)
May 18, 2019 rated it really liked it
If you read The Last Days Of August, I recommend listening to this. It’s was originally a podcast by Ronson about the tech porn takeover that lead him o the story of August Ames. There’s lots of information and ideas that pop out during these interviews and sometimes it got a bit confusing but really excellent, as always
Lindsay Nixon
Aug 03, 2017 rated it it was amazing
If you liked Freakanomics you'll love this! It is an honest look at how free porn changed the world for good and bad. The far reaching effects are beyond anything I considered. I read it initially because I'm forcing myself to learn about anything I've viewed as shameful, to help erase shame from my life (Shame is evil and corrosive) and found exactly what I was looking for.
Miriam
Nov 12, 2019 rated it it was amazing
This was the very first audio-book I have listened to all the way through. Controversial choice for the very first one. Don't know what that says about me.

description

I'm very intrigued by topics which are taboo or even controversial and porn seems to tick both boxes despite the times we live in today. This podcast is about the technologically advanced way porn has developed. From only being available in video shops in a shameful corner to only being a click away. This covers the creation of pornhub (basi
...more
Jeff Harris
Aug 14, 2017 rated it really liked it
Shelves: audible
Interesting perspective but obviously biased towards specific opinion. I don't disagree with it, but it does come off as a "see! see what I'm saying!" Still it was insightful and well done.
Brendan Monroe
Aug 19, 2017 rated it really liked it
Since this was a free offering from Audible, I wasn't expecting much, but being familiar with Jon Ronson's work, I should have known better. This was never anything less than fascinating.

"The Butterfly Effect" takes the shape of more of a podcast than an audiobook, and it reminded me at times of the well-regarded "Serial" podcast, but far better as I found that podcast to be somewhat overrated.

Each episode (there are seven in all) runs for roughly half an hour, each taking on a different effec
...more
Tony
Sep 27, 2017 rated it it was amazing
There’s a discussion somewhere through this which suggests that it’s possible to create any story from this depending on the angle you choose at the outset. With this in mind, I think Mr Ronson has carried out an outstanding job here.

There are a couple of ground-breaking revelations contained within and I think this butterfly’s wings are stronger and beat harder that most through history. It’s difficult to discuss them thoroughly here without going deep into spoiler territory, but what’s suggest
...more
Eve Dangerfield
Sep 11, 2017 rated it really liked it
Interesting, insightful and a little heartbreaking. Classic Ronson basically.
Stephie
Sep 15, 2017 rated it it was amazing
Shelves: sociology
This was a really amazing audiobook. I've read a few of Jon Ronson's books and love the way he approaches these subjects. He's a bit like Louis Theroux in his ability to gain trust and honest responses from people.

Ronson humanises the porn industry by looking into the consequences of 'tube' sites like Pornhub. They have had some devastating effects, not just on consumers of porn, but all the porn stars, directors, studios etc that were able to make a living before the arrival of these sites. No
...more
Sara (A Gingerly Review)
Interesting listen if you don't mind the topic. Not exactly my cup o' tea.
James
Jul 28, 2017 rated it liked it
Another great Jon Ronson investigation.
« previous 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 next »
There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Readers also enjoyed

  • Escape From Jonestown
  • The Dark Web
  • Habits for Happiness
  • In the Habit: Introduction to Changing our Behaviour
  • There Will Be Blood
  • What were you thinking? Inside the adolescent brain
  • Evil Has A Name: The Untold Story of the Golden State Killer Investigation
  • Hysteria!
  • The Making of a Massacre
  • Ponzi Supernova
  • The Sun King
  • Sincerely, X
  • West Cork
See similar books…
4,293 followers
Jon Ronson is a writer and documentary filmmaker. His work includes the international bestsellers Them: Adventures With Extremists and The Men Who Stare at Goats, which was adapted into a major motion picture starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges.

A contributor to The Guardian, Ronson is the author of the columns "Human Zoo" and "Out of the Ordinary". He writes and
...more

Related Articles

He's dallied with psychopaths and extremists—now Ronson tackles our outrage-obsessed social media culture in his latest nonfiction adventure, So Yo...
10 likes · 3 comments
“This series tells the story of a Butterfly Effect. Back when Fabian was a teenager in Brussels in the 1990s, he had an idea. Because of that idea some people in Montreal eventually started to behave differently. As a consequence, other people down in the San Fernando Valley started behaving differently, and so on. For a year, I´ve been tracing Fabian’s Butterfly Effect. If I kept going, tracing consequence through to consequence, where might I end up? To give you an idea of the places where I do end up, by the end of episode 2, a man in Norway will be paying some women to set fire to his stamp collection. By the end of episode 4, a child in Oklahoma will be forced to move to the edge of town. By the end of episode 5, a man will lose his life. But first, let’s go back to the flap of the butterfly’s wings: Fabian, a teenager in Brussels.” 0 likes
More quotes…