Dangers of the Internet Pornography - Essay Example

?Introduction Getting access to pornographic content is getting easier mainly because of the widespread application of information technology in virtually all sectors. The access to computer and internet-enabled mobile phones is no longer a privilege of the adults alone and incidents of children accessing pornographic content is on the increase. Watching pornographic content is not a new phenomenon and researchers have studied its effect on children and the society at large. It is apparent that use of the internet is beneficial to the society because it enhances quick dissemination of important information. However, watching internet pornography is dangerous to society because it contributes to ethical and moral degradation. The increasing accessibility to internet pornography is currently an important issue of concern to policy makers and the society. This has generated intense debate on controlling the accessibility of the content especially to young children. The legality of allowing adults access to pornographic content remains a controversial issue. However, numerous research studies on pornography demonstrates that watching the content is harmful to all people irrespective of their age. According to Bailey (32), watching pornographic content especially through the internet contributes to development of sex addiction or obsession that motivates people to commit crimes in the society. In addition, the habit wastes productive time that could be used to build careers and enhance family relationships (Bailey, 37) Watching pornographic content motivates people to commit sexual crimes Diamond (310). Various studies carried on sexual offenders demonstrate a positive relation between watching internet pornography and committing sexual crimes such as rape and sex with minors. In a study conducted by Allen, et al(140) among convicted rapists to establish the relationship between watching pornography and committing rape, 86% of the convicted rapists admitted to have been regular audience of internet pornographic content and over 60 percent of them admitted to have imitated the scenes on the pornographic content on their victims while committing the offense. A separate study by Bailey (67) established that rapists are fifteen times more likely to have been exposed to explicit pornographic content in their childhood. Similarly watching internet pornography contributes or aggravate to the development of antisocial and deviant behavior, sexual crimes and personality disorders (Bailey, 76) . Currently child pornography is a serious problem in the globe and several research studies have been undertaken to investigate its effect on children and the society. According to McCarthy (183), “possession of child pornographic content by an individual is a strong indicator of pedophilia. Allen, et al(147) noted that child pornography is widely applied by pedophiles to “arouse themselves sexually, to undermine the resistance, ruin the conscience and minimize inhibitions of potential children victims toward engaging in sexual intercourse with an adult. In addition, child pornographic content is used by children sexual molesters to train the minors on how to act while having sex with an adult”. Internet pornography increases the vulnerability of people to engage in deviant sexual behaviors. These behaviors include voyeurism, pedophilia, group sexual encounters and exhibitionisms among others (McCarthy, 186). Bailey (86) conducted a study on child pornographic offenders and established that 23 percent of them were suffering from pedophilia, a mental disorder. A total of 11 percent of the offenders in the study were suffering from voyeurism and exhibitionism while 49 percent had paraphilia (Bailey, 89-96). Therefore, watching pornographic content contributes to the development of deviant sexual behaviors and is an indicator of the prevalence of the disorders in the society. The effect of watching child pornography and sexual abuse on minors has drawn considerable research findings. The conviction that watching child pornography promotes sexual molestation of children forms the basis of the current legislations of protecting children (Christensen, 53). Research findings on the relationship between child pornography and the propensity to commit sexual molestation of minors remain highly controversial and limited. However, there is a strong indication that watching child pornography especially by young adults and teenagers encourages them to experiment in early sexual encounters with adults and age mates. The large numbers of young viewers watching the content on the internet can demonstrate the tremendous impact that pornography has on children and young adults. According to Allen et al (160), the largest group of viewers on internet pornography is children aged from 12 to 17 years. Due to the large number of children using the internet and accessing pornographic sites, they are vulnerable to adult sexual molesters, who use the sites as safer method of meeting the children. A research conducted by Diamond( 93), established that 33 percent of young people aged from eight to eighteen years admitted to have physically met someone that they had initially been in contact through the internet. Children are normally trusting in nature and pedophiles exploit this weakness to obtain personal information of the minors buy establishing online relationships with an objective of abusing them sexually. Moreover, child molesters request children to supply them with sexually explicit photographs on line, and this encourages children to produces their own pornographic content (Christensen, 105). The impact of internet pornographic content is not only limited to committing sexual crimes but also on promoting gender violence. According to Diamond(300) pornographic content degrades the status of women in the society because it portrays them as sexual objects. The explicit material perpetuates gender-based violence and degrades women’s overall standing in the society irrespective of whether they are compelled to give their consent voluntarily in pornographic content. Christensen, (122) argues that explicit pornographic content depicting women having sexual intercourse with animals or being forced into sexual acts reinforces the myth that women do not have control of their sexuality. This promotes gender biasness, increasing vulnerability of women to rape by men in and out the confines of marriage. The rate of sexual crimes against women has been on an increasing trend especially in developed countries such as Sweden and United States. The increase in sexual crimes especially rape has occurred in a period of growing access to pornographic content. Addiction to pornographic content in the internet by both children and adults is a growing concern in the world. Watching pornographic content is a passive activity and a growing number of children and adults spend considerable amount time online. In a society where incidents of obesity are increasing, spending a lot of time watching pornographic content contributes to the problem. Moreover, watching the content wastes considerable amount of time that could be used in productive activities such as learning, working and spending time with spouse and children. Therefore, watching pornographic content has the potential of destroying family relationships, ruining the progress of students in their education in addition to damaging career progression of the affected individuals (Christensen, 170-184) Proponents supporting pornography argue that watching the content has no negative effects to the society. This argument is based on supposition that pornography is merely an expression of fantasies, which create pleasurable feelings to the audience (Diamond, 305). In addition, proponents argue that watching pornographic content prevents promiscuity and sexual related crimes in the society (Diamond, 313). Regarding the effect of pornography on women, the proponents argue that internet pornography provides an opportunity for them to demonstrate their sexuality, in a male dominated society. Proponents of pornography argue that women have been bound by traditions from the liberty of expressing their sexual potential for long period. Therefore, pornography provides them with the chance of liberating themselves from social norms that limit their sexual freedom (Diamond, 314). Pornography is a multibillion industry that generates vast amounts of incomes annually. The fact that the pornographic content is easily sold and accessed through the internet makes it one of the fastest moving products in the world. According to Diamond (306), United States alone produces about 10,000- 15,000 pornographic movies in a year. The amount of money generated by renting and selling the movies annually to the public is in the range of $4 to $10 billion. In addition, phone sex generates over $1 billion in the United States (Diamond, 311). Due to the significant contribution of the industry to the national economy, pornographic proponents argue that it benefits the society by creating jobs and generating additional revenue. Moreover, pornographic proponents argue the large number of people accessing the content through the internet demonstrates that the industry fulfils important human needs. Conclusion The amount of money that the United States government and the public spends on trying sexual criminals, maintaining the convicts in correctional centers and on medical expenses associated with obesity exceeds the revenue generated by the pornographic industry by far. Moreover, the psychological damage that child pornographic industry exerts on parents, child victims and the society cannot be quantified in monetary terms. Although proponents of pornographic content argue that sexually explicit material prevents sexual crimes, developed countries, including United States have one of the highest incidents of sexual assaults in the world. In comparison, developing countries, which have limited access to internet pornographic material, have lower rates of sexual crimes. Some of the developing regions in the world with lowest rate of sexual assaults include countries in the Middle East (Christensen, 251) It is apparent that internet pornographic industry generates vast amounts of revenues in the country. However, the raising incidents of child sexual molestation and other sexual crimes demonstrate the negative impacts of pornography to the society. Works Cited Allen, M., et al. “Reactions of Criminal Sexual Offenders to Pornography: A Meta-Analytic Summary.” Communication Year Book, 22(1999): 140-170. Bailey, J. “Confronting Collective Harm: Technology’s Transformative Impact on Child Pornography.” University of New Brunswick Law Journal 56(2007): 60-105. Christensen, F. Pornography: The Other Side. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1990. Diamond, M. “Pornography, Public Acceptance and Sex Related Crime: A Review.” International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 32(2009): 300-314. McCarthy, J. “Internet Sexual Activity: A Comparison between Contact and Non-Contact Child Pornography Offenders.” Journal of Sexual Aggression, 16.2(2010): 181-195. Read More