I recall when screen savers were a common malware vector on Windows. I suppose everything old is new again.
The article is at the least titled misleadingly and an attempt to sell fear.
> On the surface, this wallpaper sample (above) we uncovered in December 2025 looks completely harmless.
In reference to a screenshot of an anime woman with ripped clothes, eyes in fear, being monitored by CCTV camera.
From my knowledge, "adult entertainment" is targeted by malware because it's socially embarrassing to admit that was the attack vector. It's relevant to point that out.
This is also why sexual imagery should generally be kept out of public spaces, not because of "puritanism" but because it just generally isn't a good idea to go around letting bad actors inhibiting people's executive function willy-nilly. That should generally be denied as a tool to bad actors like scammers.
[1]: For instance https://people.duke.edu/~dandan/webfiles/PapersPI/Sexual%20A... - note while the title mentions "sexual decision making" it also covers some 'bad decisions' that aren't particularly sexual on their own.
The study you mention say the people were already in an arousal state (that they had to induce themselves). It's very different from seeing images that you may simply ignore, evaluate differently, etc.
Also, there is the bias that if people are looking for such images (because they really want them), they are probably more willing to drop recommended practices, and hence make irrational moves. So irrationality doesn't come from seeing the images at the first place, but from their willingness to find / see such images.
Okay but presumeably humans adapt to the level of "sexuality" around them to some degree (like they do nearly every other stimulus), because otherwise you could show less prude cultures having lower ability to do "rational thought".
Nudity is normal all over the world and yet people seem to function just fine. What constitutes content that justifies sexual arousal is socially constructed!
[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/wallpaperengine/comments/7xg27d/rem...
> Because Wallpaper Engine relies on Steam Workshop for content sharing, anyone can create a wallpaper and publish it for the community to download and install for free.
RIP
While it's not as high-profile as the official profile backgrounds and avatars, it's still in an area that most gamers would think was safe by default, since Valve moderates it.
But I assume you grew in the culture where all nudity has been fetishised, so you accidentally conflate these two.
It's not as if it's news or anything. "Sex sells" isn't a new phrase. But I think most people assume it's just because it's ambiently appealing, the fact that it also objectively lowers rational barriers to buying what is being sold is less well understood and changes the question from just a matter of appeal to one of psychological abusiveness.
That's how I've come to see it; that sexy chick (sexist language chosen advisedly) on the billboard isn't just a company nicely providing me a beautiful thing to look at for no reason at all, it's an attack on my executive function. It's an incredibly hostile thing to do and should be treated as such.