The internet has become very popular and it is accessible to everyone. People get online to check movie times, make travel plans, and to even check bank accounts. However, with all the activities that happen online, pornography has become the number one use of the internet today. Take a look at the reasons that make the internet perfect for pornography distribution.
- It is Private. Meaning that you don’t have to go to a gas station or adult video store and embarrass yourself.
- The amount of images and videos is limitless. The internet gives users access to hundreds and thousands of videos and images, which can be downloaded in seconds.
- It is Free. There are tons of pay sites for Pornography, but everyday there are more and more sites that offer free pornography.
“Mary Anne Layden, co-director of the Sexual Trauma and Psyshopathology Program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Cognitive Therapy, called porn the “most concerning thing to psychological health that I know of existing today.”
“The internet is a perfect drug delivery system because you are anonymous, aroused, and have role models for these behaviors,” Layden said. “To have drugs pumped into your house 24/7, free, and children know how to use it better than grown-ups know how to use it – it’s a perfect delievery system if we want to have a whole generation of young addicts who will never have the drug out of their mind.”
Pornography addicts have a more difficult time recovering from their addiction than cocaine addicts, since coke users can get the drug out of their system, but pornographic images stay in the brain forever, Layden said.”(1)
It is no secret that pornography can be addictive, in fact, I am sure that it is safe to say that everyone knows someone who has a problem with pornography. Those who try to stop often find themselves returning to their old habits after a few months. With our children surfing the web for school and other innocent activities, they are being targeted by the porn industry as new potential customers. I think of it like this: Why would you send your kids to see a kids movie at an adult theater? And this is what the internet is becoming today.
“Pornography may be the most alluring trap of all for our teenagers. It certainly can be one of the most destructive. Children are naturally curious anyway. But when they approach adolescence and hormones begin streaking through their bodies, curiosity about the opposite sex soars.
Of course, curiosity is a natural, good thing – as are the normal feelings of excitement that accompany sexual awakening. But the trap of pornography can turn innocent inquisitiveness into an obsession with destructive, lifelong consequences.” (2)
Peers Against Pornography, or Peers AP, has three main purposes.
- To increase awareness of the dangers of pornography. Basically we want to educate the public and help people understand the negative effect of pornography; not just psychologically but also the physical effect and the effects that it can have on relationships and your personal life.
- To provide a support group. We are spending quite a bit of money to provide an online support group for people addicted to pornography and those affected by someone who has been involved.
- Press congress for laws governing the distribution of porn. There is a reason that pornography is for people 18 and older, but why is it that young teenagers and even children can access porn. Peers AP is fighting to make it harder for people to obtain pornography.
If you want to learn more about our organizatoin or our services, then please check out our website at http://www.peersap.org/. The site is currently under construction, but we are working around the clock to get it up and running.
Written by:
Blake Taylor
References:
- Singel, Ryan, “Internet Porn: Worse Than Crack?”, Nov 19, 2004, http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2004/11/65772.
- Rainey, Dennis and Barbara, “The Dangers of Pornography.”, http://www.familylife.com/articles/article_detail.asp?id=308
