Pornography: The Silent Threat

When many of us think of pornography we think of the worst case scenario and that it will never happen to us or anyone we know. I'm here to tell you that's not true. Even in the smallest of ways pornography can creep into our lives and those we love. This happened to me, personally. I never would have dreamed it would sneak into my marriage but it did. 

Did you know that 87% of college-aged men said that they view pornography? Of that 87%, 50% of them admitted to viewing it on a weekly basis and 20% said they view it daily or every other day! Not only are men involved in looking at pornography but women are too. In the same age category 31% of women said they view pornography. These are just the people who are admitting it! (Christensen, 2011). What happens if we go to an age group younger than college? In just youth between the ages of 15-17, 70% have said that they have intentionally or unintentionally found pornography on the internet (Fagan, 2009). 

Why is it a problem? 
Pornography is a problem not only because it can lead to a decrease in sexual satisfaction and relationship problems but it can lead to violence. In Africa young men see pornography is movies and on television. They see different sexual acts performed and then they have the desire to try them out. So what do they do? They go to a bar, drug a girl and then gang rape her in an alley (Kheswa, 2014). 

That may be what is happening in Africa but what's going on in the United States? California has tried passing a law that says revenge porn is a misdemeanor. The key word in this law is that it has to be intentional. If the pornography is sent to harm any other person then it would be considered a misdemeanor, but if it doesn't have the intent to hurt another person then it's completely legal (Goldman, 2008). This needs to be changed! All porn whether it has the intent to hurt someone or not, is harmful! 

What can we do about it? 
We can let our voices be heard in our communities to help put a stop to pornography. Now, that may be difficult for some of us but there is still something all of us can do. We can start in our own homes. We can put locks on our televisions and electronic devices. We can also limit time on any electronic device. This allows time for learning, growing and discovery. We need to set time aside to reflect on what we are personally doing and see if we are setting an example that we are okay with our children following. The video posted below helps remind us that we need to look within ourselves before we start judging others, even when it comes to pornography. 

References:

Christensen, Bryce J. and Robert W. Patterson. (2011). Porn: Like Taking Drugs From The Family in America: http://familyinamerica.org/journals/spring-2011/porn-taking-drugs/#.VDmVtdwhsrx

Fagan, P. (2009, December 1). The Effect of Pornography on Individuals, Marriage, Family, and Community: http://marri.us/pornography

Goldman, Eric. (2008, October). California’s New Law Shows It’s not Easy to Regulate Revenge Porn: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericgoldman/2013/10/08/californias-new-law-shows-its-not-easy-to-regulate-revenge-porn/

Kheswa, J.G. (2014, September). The Impact of Pornography on Adolescent Male’s Sexual Behavior in the Eastern Cape, Souther Africa. A Qualitative Study. From Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences Vol 5: http://search.proquest.com.byui.idm.oclc.org/docview/1566866371/fulltextPDF/73D492C5D1BD4ADFPQ/1?accountid=9817