Compared with men who have been arrested for soliciting a prostitute, the 'hobbyists' are more likely to say that prostitution should be legal, that they would marry a prostitute and that prostitutes enjoy their work, the researchers found. Men of this more privileged class that cruise the Internet instead of the sidewalks for sex also have different views about prostitution. A survey of men in this online community revealed that a substantial portion of them are married, white, earn over $120,000 per year, have graduate degrees and think about sex more (and feel less guilty about it), compared with other groups of men, including those who have been arrested for hiring prostitutes on the street. More distinct characteristics, however, emerge among avid customers of prostitutes who self-identify as 'hobbyists' and post on message boards that review call girls.
