The Dangers of Pornography

It's hard to avoid pornography as it is all over the Internet and even sweeping our television sets. As Elisabeth Deffner mentions in her article,  “The Pornography Problem”(1),   “Pornography is a $57 billion worldwide industry.”

Knowing that it's popular, can we say that it is right? Certainly not, I would argue.

What do we see when we view such material? While it has been justified as mere enjoyment or distraction, the addictive effects it has cannot be ignored, and therefore we cannot write it off as a harmless diversion. Since viewing pornography for the first time typically occurs at young ages, it can be difficult to remove them from the impressionable mind, and the result is a confused or outright mistaken perception of women and relationships.  Sex itself is seen not as a meaningful bond between lovers, but as a way to “have a good time”, without dealing with the consequences, some of which are long term.

As pornography takes advantage of our carnal desires, it can actually grow to become a severe physical as well as a mental problem, becoming, as Deffner puts it, a “biochemical high” and “substance addiction” that is difficult to rid oneself of. Once it has taken hold of us at this level, it cannot leave our minds, and our attitudes towards sex are even more skewed, sometimes blurring the line between real and false. Seeing women as sex-toys – just as they are portrayed in pornographic material as – such addicts are in danger of even making mistakes in real life. What if the pleasures that porn gave them are no longer enough for them, and so they see fit to rape someone to satisfy their new desires? What if they require so much pornography that they must cut into their regular budget in order to pay for new material? At this point, the body takes over the mind, which no longer has the power to dictate what the body needs.

Pornography can quickly grow into a powerful obsession, and in order to escape from its grasp, should you be addicted to it, confess to family or friends about your problem and seek out a psychologist or a specialist on addiction.

If you want to take action against pornography being propagated throughout the media, especially on television and the Internet, consider joining groups such as Citizens Against Pornography (www.citizensap.org) or Morality in Media (www.moralityinmedia.org), write a letter to your congressman expressing your concern, and why you feel you need to keep your family safe from such content, and propose how to stop it. Whether or not you are against pornography, you have a choice whether or not to allow yourself or your children to be exposed to it.

1. www.listenmagazine.org/article.php?id=37

2. www.citizensap.org

3. www.moralityinmedia.org,