The word “pornography” is a combination of the Greek word porni (“prostitute”) and graphein (“to write”), which means “writing about harlots.”
Pornography, as defined by Peter and Valkenburg, is portrayal of sexual subject matter through various mediums such as books, videos, magazines, drawings etc. for the purpose of sexual arousal.
With the technological boom and a widespread use of internet, pornographic material (in all its mediums) has become easily accessible. Hence, the easy procurement of sexual content has increased its viewership developing an addiction, technically, also referred as compulsive or impulsive viewing. For this reason, the addiction has become key factor behind hypersexual disorders.
The disorder is an umbrella construct for problematic behaviors such as excessive masturbation, cybersex, telephone sex, strip club visits and most predominantly the use of drugs.
According to a study 79% of porn performers have used marijuana, and 50% have used ecstasy; a fact that should be treated as a serious concern. The west has conducted numerous studies over the addiction of pornography and its implications, according to which, the side effects include: higher level of depression, feeling of guilt, addiction to sex/drugs/alcohol, fatigue, impaired concentration, anger and impatience etc. However, the porn addiction also hampers the normal sexual orientation of a person.
Sexuality has remained a fluid yet a debatable phenomenon, peculiarities to which vary pertaining to the social context. In this aspect, social constructivism holds much relevance when we in these times are witnessing the increase in rapes: specifically in child molestation.
Concepts such as homosexuality or sadomasochism that were considered taboo subjects to be even discussed, have now become a common practice. Much credit goes to stimulated psychological construct developed in an individual who has been watching such content and no longer finds the so called “garbage” bizarre rather practicable.
A study exploring the relationship between hard-core pornography and sexual offences explains that the cliental of hard-core porn consider violence and assault justified.
Another Swedish research explained that people who are addicted to porn (90% of teens and 96% of young adults are either encouraging, accepting, or neutral when they talk about porn with their friends) have more liberal and positive attitude towards the unconventional sexual themes than the people who watched porn less frequently.
Now the fact to ponder upon is, what morphological construct of human brain triggers an individual to watch porn as much to turn the activity into an addiction.
There is this chemical ‘Dopamine’ also known as the ‘feel-good neurotransmitter’ which human brain releases every time one reaches the climax of sexual pleasure, takes drugs/sedatives, or curbs his craving of food. The chemical basically, when released, reaches the nerve cells with the message” All is well”. Consequently, your nerves relax, rejoice and rest in peace giving an individual temporal but a heightened feeling of pleasure.
So it become easier to contemplate why people, especially youngsters, mired in stress and frustration resort to pornography. After all, ‘the feel good trance’ comes for free. But the fun people think comes for free, has in fact become a business empire.
It is estimated that virtual reality pornography would reach a $1 billion business by the year 2025.Whereas, Jenna Jameson (the queen of porn industry) has net worth of $30 million.
Nevertheless, the addiction has not just helped in increased cases of sexual disorders, rapes, molestation, harassments, etc. but has seriously inflicted damage to marital relationships.
68% of divorce cases involved one partner meeting a new lover over the Internet particularly because they think their partners cannot fulfill their sexual fantasies they are known to through pornography.
Elaborating the same fact Dr. Mary Anne Layden stated. “I have seen in my clinical experience that pornography damages the sexual performance of the viewers. Pornography is raising their expectation and demand for types and amounts of sexual experiences.”
In Pakistan, although the government has posed a ban over the pornographic websites, the measure certainly was not enough either to stop the viewers from viewing it (VPNs – as most know) or to curb the horrifying rate of rapes.
According to a study by Human Rights Watch, there is a rape once every two hours and a gang rape every eight in the Islamic Republic: a nation of rich cultural and moral values (ingredients for a virtuous nation that west is deprived of).
The basic pillars on which the Pakistani nation stands: religion and diversified culture which strictly condemns sexually illicit evils is now into the quagmire of filth germinated through the pornographic Frankenstein. It is an undeniable fact, that most, if not all, teenagers in our society resort to pornography out of curiosity and the biological changes that occur during their phase of puberty.
Unlike the western nations, the urge to be inquisitive specifically about the ‘unseen’, ‘hidden’ and ‘censored’ is rampant in Asian nations with their strict laws that exacerbate the situation. Advocates of such strictness are often forgetful of the fact that by creating such an atmosphere where even the discussion of such topics is considered a grave taboo ends up doing more harm to the already deplorable state of the country. In addition such conventional a setup proves to be a breeding ground for the rebellious nature of individuals who deliberately perform such acts clandestinely at first, and then penetrate deep into an unending downward spiral of heinous acts.
It is therefore recommended that instead of focusing ‘solely’ on harsher rules and regulations, sensitization of masses at large is need of the hour. Individuals ought to be acquainted with not only moral and social values but also need to get cognizant of the laws and punishments associated with deviant behaviors. Likewise, the government and the citizenry need to go hand in hand by devising such mechanisms that educate and inculcate civic sense in the population regarding this pressing issue.
The Writer is an Award-winning Educationist in Pakistan