The Online Porn Addiction

In many cities across America, there are stores that display and sell pornography. Suburban stores that sell these sexually explicit films make up to 30 percent of the home rental market (Siegel, 2015). The purpose of pornography is to provide excitement for its customers. Although material that depict sex and nudity is legal, most codes prohibit the display of obscene material. Furthermore, people who are against the sale and display of pornography, argue that it may be harmful and degrading to the individuals who are filmed and individuals of the public. Pornography has a tendency to cause harm to many of its performers and models which causes them to become victims of physical and psychological coercion.

Porn has greatly transformed into something that is widely and fast available, compared to past decades. I feel as though it has become difficult to answer the question of whether porn affects people and how. True research on this matter could only be done if people were to honestly report their pornography use. Some individuals can occasionally watch porn and not suffer any side effects. However, there are some individuals who can view porn and not suffer any effects, whereas others may ponder on how their tastes are not in accordance with their reality. Pornography has the ability to overpower our brains when it comes to having actual sex.

When we look back on society, we can see how long it took most individuals to come to the realization that cigarettes were harmful, so we can only imagine how long it would now take for them to see that pornography is also harmful. According to the article Let’s Talk About Porn: Is it As Harmful as Society Says It Is, there are numerous reasons why pornography proves to be harmful. The first reason of porn being harmful is that it tends to rewire a person’ s brain. Individuals who frequently use porn can show signs of being less connected and active (Love, 2015). The second reason that pornography is harmful is that it can shift to unexpected territories in the brain. Porn can be thought of as an escalating behavior, because some users will develop tolerance which can shift from being exciting to now boring. The third harmful cause of pornography is that is can become an addiction. With all of the forms of online entertainment, porn is the strongest one that can become addictive.

Majority of individuals who view porn on a daily basis have the ability to create a high that connects them to what they are viewing (Negash, 2016). This mental high is so strong that individuals will start to feel incomplete until they can replenish this feeling by viewing porn (Negash, 2016). The fourth harmful cause of pornography is that it is full of lies. As Christians, we all understand that sex is natural and it is normal. However, porn is a product. Individuals in the porn business know that the only way to gain traffic to their site is to make it more attractive. When pornographers dress up their product, it is a way for them to grab the attention of any and every one. This “dressing up” usually displays sex acts as painful and violent.

Pornography tend to pose many harms to the performers and models in the business. In addition, another harmful effect of pornography is kiddie porn. Many times a year there are instances where children are believed to be used for porn and prostitution purposes ( Siegel, 2015). Most of these children are runaways who end up being exploited by adults. Sexual exploitation by adults can further devastate these children and cause them more mental agony. Children who are exploited are often prone to abnormal behaviors. This, in turn, causes these children to suffer from many physical traumas that may include genital soreness and loss of appetite (Siegel, 2015).

Although kiddie porn poses harm to many children, it can also cause violence. This notion surrounding porn only resurfaces when there is a violent crime and the perpetrator intensively views porn. When persons view porn, it may act as safety for them not to act on their impulses. However, when younger individuals are exposed to pornography this may increase the likelihood of them committing a crime of sexual assault. There has also been evidence to link people exposed to adult films that portray violence are likely to be extremely aggressive towards women (Siegel, 2015). Experiments conducted by laboratory officials have found that a great number of men who watch violent porn are more likely to show signs of aggression (Siegel, 2015).

It is no secret that porn is exclusively violent, but many people do not understand this being. The underlying messages of porn can influence a person’s behavior. Porn, which mostly consists of women, shows them being physically abused and verbally disrespected. This has shaped how society thinks and acts when it comes to pornography. Of course, not all porn depicts physical violence but even the non-violent porn can have drastic effects on people. In majority of porn, the man is seen as being powerful and in charge while the women have to be obedient to the rules he sets forth. This sets the stage for society to feel as though the man will always be in charge and the woman has to be submissive in relationships. Furthermore, porn helps to shape our attitudes and actions of how we view our reality.

According to Boeringer (1994) people who choose to buy the hardcore porn that features copious amounts of violence, are more likely to use verbal intimidation and alcohol to get individuals to have sex with them.  A few years ago, researchers compiled all the research they could find on whether pornography leads to violence (Wright, 2016). It is concluded that individuals who watch pornography often are likely to hold aggressive attitudes and engage in aggressive sexual acts (Wright, 2016). As pornography can be aggressive, it would give some individuals the thought that others enjoy pain and that they like to be treated this way. Pornography continues to hit society with trying to dehumanize violence. However, not everyone chooses to indulge in aggravated sexual assaults after viewing violent porn but those that do will be more prone to violent outbreaks.

Large portions of porn consumed by people in society reinforces the message that humiliation and sexual violence are normal. However, it is not. In conclusion, pornography is extremely harmful to those who participate and the individuals that occasionally watch it. Pornography has continued to squeeze it ways into modern society, making it easier for younger adults to gain access. Compared to other online entertainments, pornography has the strongest addiction in today’s society. This type of addiction can lead to individuals becoming violent because of the lies that pornography show its consumers.

References

1. Boeringer, S. B. (1994). Pornography and Sexual Aggression: Associations of Violent and Nonviolent Depictions with Rape and Rape Proclivity. Deviant Behavior 15(3), 289-304.
2. Love, T., Laier, C., Brand, M., Hatch, L., & Hajela, R. (20150. Neuroscience of Internet Pornography Addiction: A review and Update, Behavioral Sciences 5(3), 388-433
3. Meerkerk, G.J., Van Den Eijnden, R.J., & Garretson, H.F. (2006). Predicting Compulsive Internet Use: It’s All About Sex!, CyberPsychology and Behavior, 9(1), 95-103.
4. Negash, S., Van Ness Sheppard, N., Lambert, N. M., & Fincham, F. D. (2016). Trading Later Rewards For Current Pleasure: Pornography Consumption and Delay Discounting. The journal of Sex Research, 53(6), 698-700.
5. Siegel, L. (2015). (5th ed.). Criminology: The Core. Cengage Learning; Stamford, CT. Student Edition:
6. Wright, P.J., Tokunaga, R. S., and Kraus, A. (2016). A Meta-Analysis of Pornography Consumption and Actual Acts of Sexual Aggression in General Population Studies. Journal of Communication, 66(1), 183-205.

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