PORNOGRAPHY

Pornography has been peddled in the last few decades as harmless, natural, and innocent. Many label pornography as acceptable, but the truth is: pornography is harmful. It can entwine a person so far in, that it feels like there is no way to ever being free from its grasp.

The biggest reason that pornography is so dangerous is because it doesn’t leave physical evidence of its presence. There are too many ways to hide its usage. The other reason is that people refuse to acknowledge it except in hushed whispers – which doesn’t exactly create an environment where you can feel like it’s acceptable to find help if it becomes a problem for you.

Who consumes pornography?

The average age of introduction is 11 years old. That means that many children saw it earlier than that. Many are first introduced to pornography by accidentally stumbling across it online. Porn sites and streaming services form a shockingly large percentage of all online material. Unfortunately, most teens aren’t properly informed or prepared for it and therefore the primary pornography consumer group is boys between ages 12 and 17.

Pornographers may also disguise their sites (stealth sites) with common brand names, including Disney, Barbie, ESPN, etc., to entrap children. They know that it’s addictive and they want to catch people at the earliest ages possible so that they will have a customer for life. And child molesters often use pornography to seduce their prey, to lower the inhibitions of the victim, and to serve as an instruction manual. Pornography companies know what they’re doing.

So, coming across pornography for most teens is pretty much inevitable; it’s how you deal with it that counts. The first line of defence is implementing an Internet filter. It makes accidental exposure nearly impossible and makes it much more difficult to access material intentionally.

Pornography and addiction

Studies show pornography is progressive and addictive for many. Online pornography is giving rise to a new form of sexual compulsiveness. A substantial portion of online-porn regulars develop sexual behaviour that disrupts their lives. The Internet is the crack cocaine of sexual addiction; pornography consumption can be as mood-altering and as addictive as drugs.

It acts like a drug by spiking the dopamine levels and other hormones in the brain. It gives you a high which means it comes crashing down later. Which sends you into a depression of self-loathing and regret over what you just witnessed.

Pornography and relationships

Pornography distorts the natural development of personality. If the early stimulus is pornographic images, the adolescent can become conditioned to become aroused through images. Once this pairing is rewarded a number of times, it is likely to become permanent. The result to the individual is that it becomes difficult for the person to seek out relations with appropriate persons in real life.

Men who view pornography are more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction than men who do not use pornography. People who view porn regularly are less likely to get married than those who do not. This is because users see porn as a substitute for marital sexual gratification.

Porn portrays women as nothing more than objects of sexual pleasure and makes men out to be nothing but sexual prowlers. It limits what it means to be a man or a woman to merely your sexuality and distorts your idea of gender roles.

How pornography changes the brain

Though many people use porn to relax or relieve stress, it can cause more mental health issues in both men and women such as anxiety, depression, insecurity, and body image issues, to name a few. It affects a person’s life, causing loss of motivation, self-esteem, and overall shame. Though many porn users begin using porn which aligns with their morals and sexual tastes, porn, over time, can alter sexual tastes so that the users believe the acquired tastes are natural. Thus, porn essential rewires the brain with frequent use.

Pornography and divorce

The Internet plays an increasingly significant role in recent divorces. Whereas pornography used to have an almost non-existent role in divorce just a few years ago. Pornography has been shown to increase marital infidelity by 300 percent, according to a 2004 study in Social Science Quarterly. People who use porn are more likely to feel less love for their spouse/partner and are more dissatisfied with their spouse/partner than people who do not use porn.

Pornography and sexual assault

Research gathered over the past few decades demonstrates that pornography contributes to sexual assault, including rape and the molestation of children. The more people use pornography, the more likely they are to believe that violence against women is acceptable, research suggests. The study which drew this conclusion also noted an increase in overall aggression that came with pornography use.

A multibillion-dollar industry

To say that the porn industry is very profitable is an understatement; pornography is a multibillion-dollar-a-year industry. Pornography websites receive more traffic and visitors every month than Netflix, Twitter, and Amazon combined. Entertainment on the Internet specifically (although porn videos and DVDs still make up a large section of the market) constitutes such a large sector of sales in cyberspace, that it cannot be ignored. And the size of the pornography industry is only growing bigger.

Lastly, the reality is that behind every porn star there is a real person. It is not a safe environment to work in: the industry is rife with physical abuse and most contract STIs.

Recovery from porn addiction

Recovery from a porn addiction is possible, but as with all forms of addiction, it is a long, hard road to recovery. Those who seek help and have a trusted mentor or group to whom they can be accountable are for more likely to successfully beat the addiction.