How Pornography Affects Young People: Part 1
These days, locating hard-core pornography on the internet is as easy as Googling the word ‘sex’. With minimal blocks between the search results page and a websites hosting pornographic material (usually amounting to no more than an age verification), access to porn by young people is as easily as it has ever been. Combine this ease in access with the ability to delete your history, and you have a recipe for disaster.
Critics worry at length about the effect that excessive exposure to pornography has on an adult’s home life and way of thinking, but even more about its impact on children and teens whose minds are open and whose personalities are easily moulded by outsides forces.
This blog post is much more serious than my previous musings, in fact most of my articles contain a bit of humour as let’s face it, sex is pretty funny at times! So why so serious? Well, I am going to try and argue both sides for why porn has an adverse effect on our young people, but why it cannot be blamed entirely for the fact that these days, sex seems to have been relegated in importance and engaged in by increasingly young people.
Throughout the main section of this post I will present the two opposing argument for and against porn being the single most influential element in how a young person views sex and relationships.
Argument one:
‘Watching porn makes young men see women as sex objects, and makes young woman feel that they have to imitate the women in porn (in both appearance and behaviour) to be deemed attractive and worthy of affection.’
The above argument may seem to be a very broad statement to many, however it has been given the popular vote, and is the default viewpoint of many people, particularly parents, teachers and other groups whom have a close relationship with young people and teenagers. The belief is that those who frequently view porn sites (particularly hard-core porn sites) are far more likely to see sex as a purely physical activity, and to see woman as sex objects or as play things. Here are a few figures to illustrate how far reaching this issue has become.
Every second over $3,000 is being spent on pornography.
Every second over 28,000 internet users are viewing pornography.
In that same second 372 internet users are typing adult search terms into search engines.
Every 39 minutes a new pornographic video is being created in the U.S.
Each year 42% of 10-17 year olds view pornographic material online, either deliberately, or by accident.
This argument even goes as far as to state (in a US study) that early expose to explicit pornography can be linked to a greater involvement in deviant sexual behaviour such as rape. The study indicated that young people are receiving the message that sex without any repercussions is normal and desirable.
It is common knowledge that young people copy what they see other people, particularly adults doing. It is believe that expose to pornographic material encourages children to act out what they see with their peers or with younger children. Experts in the field of childhood sexual abuse state that sexual activity in young people below the age of consent commonly points to two situations; either the child has experience of sexual situations from their own life (eg. sexual abuse), or they have been exposed to sexual content such as pornography.
During certain critical points in each person’s childhood, the brain is being programmed. This programming with eventually form the basis for many elements of the child’s personality, both for the rest of their childhood, and in later life. Sexual orientation is one of the elements which are hardwired during the early part of our lives so it is very important during this time that a child is exposed to healthy examples of sexual attitudes. If they are exposed to explicit pornographic materials during this critical time it may become etched into the child’s programming and have a massive effect on their sexual orientation. Another important point to make is that once a person is old enough to legally view porn (and let’s not forget that pornography is wholly legal when viewed by the correct demographic), they will seek more deviant and violent forms of pornography, as mild pornographic material no longer satisfies their desire for explicit imagery.
Another way that pornography is damaging young people via their increased experience of sexual behaviour is by the increase in children with sexually transmitted infections such as Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea. There has also been a massive surge in teen pregnancy rates over the past few years, and the trend is continuing to go up.
Finally, I think that it is important to note that not all children are as vulnerable to the impact that limited expose to pornography can bring. Some children are predisposed to the effects of porn for many reasons including mental health issues, a risk-taking personality and lack of interpersonal skills. All children are different and will react to any expose (deliberate or accidental) in vastly different ways.