It is also not a serious crime like stealing or murder where anyone else is harmed. So, why is pornography bad? Some would argue that it is in fact good, and represents sexual liberation and it is only human to desire pleasure.
While pornography has been around for long, never has it been so accessible and free! With rising internet speeds, even 13 year olds can watch a dozen porn videos in a day. Studies based on whether or not porn makes an impact on young brains are tough to perform because researchers find it difficult to find people who have not watched porn. ‘The objective of my work is to observe the impact of pornography on the sexuality of men, and how it shapes their perception of men and women. We started our research seeking men in their twenties who had never consumed pornography but we couldn’t find any.’, Simon Lajeunesse, PhD told the Daily Mail. In this TEDx video, Gary Wilson says that if all men in this world started smoking at the age of 10, we would think that lung cancer is normal.
Among the known dangers of porn is that it creates a conception of sex in young impressionable minds that is wrong – a man is a better sexual being if he has a big penis that stays erect for a long time, a woman is desirable only if she is showing skin, sex is less about hitting the erogenous zones of a woman and more about penetration, a woman has to scream and moan in pleasure while having sex, etc.
Over time, you may realise that porn is not real and even be exposed to stuff that shows sex that imitates real life. Yet, despite this realisation, the effects of watching porn may linger on people long after their teenage years.
While we cannot decide for you, if you want to quit watching porn, below are some thoughts that will help you get rid of porn addiction.
1. Think about what porn is doing to the society
You might think that porn stars are extremely rich, and there is nothing wrong with performing for some money. However, that impression is based on you seeing just the cream of the crop. Several prostitutes and women across the globe are exploited and captured on camera for a paltry sum just to fulfil your desire to get aroused. Drug addiction, poverty, etc. are just some reasons why women commit these acts.
The amount of traffic that porn websites get has created a demand for different types of porn and people who see it as business go to any lengths to fulfil this demand.
2. Don’t use porn to masturbate
Masturbation is healthy and has several health benefits like helping you release stress. A lot of people think that watching porn is a great stress buster as it is usually accompanied with masturbation. Without porn or a partner, how would one get aroused? This is a wrong notion as your brain is enough to give you erotic thoughts that will help you masturbate, if you stay away from porn for some time. Also, if you can masturbate without porn, it is unlikely that you will watch it.
3. Don’t use porn to distract yourself
Internet porn works on a very strange principle of exposing you to a wide range of females in a short span of time making sure that we get aroused in no time. Arousal is usually accompanied with pleasure hormones like getting secreted into our body, making us forget about whatever problems we might be facing in our life. Resorting to porn for comfort will only get you dependent. Instead, you could try exercising, learning a new language or reading a book.