English 2010

Larger Portfolio Essay

Ceami Passey

Losing Our Humanity

The internet is becoming more available. With this availability comes
risks. A persons identity can be taken easier, get hacked, money can be
stolen, and more. An unrecognized danger to the internet is pornography.
This topic is mostly kept behind closed doors, but it needs to be shared more,
so others can know about its harmful effects. Pornography is material
specifically designed to arouse sexual feelings in people by depicting nudity,
sexual behavior, or any type of sexual information. (Manning, 2008) To some,
it can seem like a harmless action, but in the bigger picture it is extremely
harmful. Viewing pornography can harm relationships, brain development,
and sex life. (Sheila, 2014) Fight the New Drug is an organization designed to
bring awareness to the harmful effects of pornography. This generation and
those to come, are being exposed to something that they do not know is
harming them, and those around them. It is important that not just adults,
but also the youth and children learn about the effects porn can have in their
life.
When an individual views porn, they dont think that it could be
causing harm to them; instead they think of it as if they are watching a
movie. The truth is that viewing pornography is harming them more than
they think. On the outside the person may seem fine, but once you take a
look inside, the body is changing in ways it should not be changed. The
biggest change that is occurring is in the brain. Porn floods the brain with
dopamine. That rush of brain chemicals happening over and over again
rewires the brains reward pathway ultimately changing the make-up of the
viewers brain. This can result in an increased appetite for porn. (Porn
Chnages the Brain, 2014) Porn rewires the brain! If more people knew about
this effect would they stop watching porn, or even not start it?

An individuals brain doesnt stop developing until the mid-twenties, or

even early thirties. (Simpson, 2008) ..it is alarming to know that
approximately 20 to 30 percent of people who go online use the internet for
sexual purposes-which translates into approximately 34 to 57 million people!
The average age that porn is being viewed is between the ages of 15 to 28.
(Manning, 2008) That means that most of these viewers brain are not being
developed in the right way. The way they find pleasure and happiness is
altered because of what they see in porn. A neuron is a brain cell, and when
brain cells get activated at the same time by something you see or hear or
smell or whatever, they release chemicals that help strengthen the
connection between those neurons. (Bostwick & Bostwick, 2007) For
instance, when you go to an amusement park, and ride your favorite roller
coaster, your brain releases dopamine, which makes you feel good. So every
time you go to an amusement park, or think of one, you feel happy and good
inside, this is called a reward pathway. When someone views porn, their
brain gets filled with dopamine so much that it ruins the receptors on the
neuron. A receptor is like tiny ears on the end of a neuron that hear
dopamines message. (Hilton, 2011) With fewer receptors, the brain cant
feel the full of dopamine as it should. Because of this, when someone views
porn, what once was exciting has become bland, so the person goes on the
search to find more porn or more violent porn, which will help them feel the
dopamine. By wanting to see more porn, they become dependent on it so
that they can feel good, which then makes their pornography viewing
addictive.
An addiction is a strong and harmful need to regularly have something
(such as a drug) or do something (such as gamble). (Addiction, n.d.) An
individual will want to get the good feeling from dopamine, so they will try to
constantly have porn before their eyes, and if they dont it can cause them to
have the same symptoms that a drug addict would have. Not only are there
drug addicts, but people can become addicted to anything such as:

chocolate, putting on lotion, writing, and more. With each addiction, it starts
with a small dose, but then the person begins to want more and more, until
they get to a point where even if they had all they wanted they still would
not be satisfied. With a porn viewer, this can become very dangerous
because their intangible viewing can change to wanting to experience what
they have seen for themselves. They no longer find pleasure in watching
hardcore porn, instead they go out and try to make porn come to life in their
own lives. They target men or women, and do what they saw done in images
or videos of porn. Once a person tries to take their porn viewing out into the
real world, it can start causing problems in their relationships or real sex
lives.
I have had friends and family who have been involved in porn, and
they each told me that it was something they wish they had never started.
They said they would feel sick if they couldnt view it one day, they would
get excited at the mere mention of certain words, and they would always be
looking forward to the time when they could be alone. I had some tell me
how it made it so their family didnt trust them anymore, and how it was
hard for them to begin a loving relationship because all they could think
about was the physical part of it. I had been in a relationship where I thought
everything was great, and we both were happy. We were very honest with
each other, so at the beginning of our relationship he told me how he used to
look at porn every day, but that he had gone through counseling to get out of
it. I told him I was proud he realized what he did was wrong, and glad that he
was now clear of it. After a while of being together, things began to go
downhill. He became more aggressive and violent towards me, he would
make me feel belittled, and at one point he almost tried to take advantage of
me. At that point I knew things had gone too far, and that I needed to end
things, it was then that he confessed to me that he had relapsed, and had
fallen back into watching porn, and that with each couple of weeks his
viewing would become more violent, until he just wanted to try it for himself.

Because of porn our relationship was ruined. Not only did this happen to me,
but it is happening to other women, and some men, in other parts of the
world. When humans begin to objectify other humans, we lose part of our
humanity. (Manning, 2008) Not only do we lose our humanity from
objectification, but also from viewing pornography, which starts it all.
In some relationships, and undoubtedly in marriages, sex is a big part of
what brings a couple together. Once that act is done, a bond begins to grow
between the two people. When one partner is involved with porn their view
on sex becomes muddled. Once sex might have been something special a
couple shared, but then it could turn into something a couple does not care
much for anymore. Since they have lost care in having sex with the person, it
can cause them to find their pleasure through viewing porn and giving
themselves pleasure, or in other words masturbation. They have a partner
who could fulfill their desires, but they still would rather have porn and their
own hand. Viewing pornography can also make it so that when someone
does have sex with their partner that they are more violent or aggressive,
and that they try to do the things that they saw done in pornography.
Since porn often portrays women as nothing more than sex
objects that need to be dominated, its not surprising that porn users
often start seeing real women that way as well. In one study of porns
effects, researchers broke participants up into three groups: to one
they showed a high amount of pornography, one a medium amount,
and the third a lower amount, and then followed with questions about
what participants thought about women. Results showed that the more
porn a man was exposed to, the more likely he was to prefer that
women be submissive and subordinate to men. Since most women in
our culture are taught to expect love to be built on equality and mutual
respect, seeing women as subordinate isnt exactly a great start to
lasting love (Layden, 2010)

When an individual watches porn it ruins their sex life into something that is
not real, or into something that is harmful to another person. Pornography is
already dangerous because it messes up a persons life, but when another
persons life is added into the mix it makes things worse.
It may seem that viewing porn is just between the viewer and the
images, but it also affects the people around the viewer. Studies have
shown that even casual use of porn can cause the user to feel less attracted
to their partner. (Bridges, 2010) This makes only one person into the
relationship, while the other is having a virtual relationship with pornography.
Not only does this ruin a boyfriend-girlfriend type relationship, but it can also
ruin relationships with family, and close friends. Pornography viewing leads
to a loss of interest in family relations, a loss in trust, and sometimes a loss
in privileges. (Fagan, n.d.) When someone finds out that someone they care
about is viewing porn, they try to help the person out of it, but it becomes
difficult when the person has fallen too deep into the trap of pornography.
Another dangerous trap is when children get involved with
pornography. The viewing age for pornography is rapidly decreasing, as more
and more children get access to the internet. It can begin with a pop up on a
screen that a child curiously clicks on, it can come from advertisements, or it
can come from any form of curiosity. Parents need to warn their children of
the dangers of the internet before it becomes too late. Because a child is so
young, their brain is developing more rapidly than an adults, so any exposure
to porn can harm them more than it can harm an adult, especially if they
view it from the age of a child to an adult. When a parent speaks to a child, it
would not be wise to dump on them all the information, for some children
arent old enough to understand a certain topic, but they should start with
the basics, and as they grow older add more detail.
It is important that children, teens, and adults learn the harmful effects
of pornography so they know why and how they can avoid it. Fight the New
Drug is a non-profit organization designed to speak out about the harmful

effects of pornography. They have people all around the world supporting
their movement, and spreading the word about what porn can do to an
individual. Not only do they give information about why porn is harming this
generation, but they also give a helping hand to get those involved in
pornography back on their feet, with as little side effects as possible. An
individual does not need to be a supporter of Fight the New Drug to spread
the word about porns harm, they can simply tell their friends and let the
word spread from there. It is critical that more people learn about what porn
is doing to them.
There have been arguments stating that pornography can be beneficial
to an individual in that it is therapeutic or relieves stress. Moderate
pornography consumption does not make users more aggressive, promote
sexism or harm relationships. If anything, some researchers suggest,
exposure to pornography might make some people less likely to commit
sexual crimes. (Moyer, 2011) In the quote the author said moderate, or in
other words small or average. This is saying that small of amounts of
pornography do not lead to harm or aggression, which is true. But with time,
the person viewing porn will go looking for more porn because their
moderate use of porn is not giving them the dopamine, or good feeling that
they are looking for. As they search for more they will become addicted, and
at some point watching it will not be enough, so they will try to do what they
can to make it lifelike. Pornography is not something that can be messed
with, because even a small amount can lead to more, which makes it
detrimental. Viewing pornography has no positive effects on a person.
Research may say it will help the person, but the bigger picture shows
pornography ruining an individuals life, their brain, their relationships, and
any true happiness they are looking for. Viewing pornography will not get
someone closer to what they want to be, it will only take them further down
a road of forgotten dreams.

From a young age, most kids dream of growing up and getting a

successful job or starting a family. When someone is involved in porn, it can
hinder these advancements in life, or even take them away. We shouldnt let
our childhood dreams and ambitions die away for a measly video or image of
somebody in a sexual manner. As a society and individual, we will be happier
without pornography in our lives. Our relationships will be more pleasant and
real, our brains wont be destroyed, and we can have a more normal sex life.
If you work hard to avoid pornography or clean it out of your life, you will
be happier, more successful, and more sexually attractive (and attracted) to
your spouse in the future. (Manning, 2008) Every generation has a battle
they need to overcome; our battle is pornography. We need to get this
generation back on its feet so they can fight the harms of pornography and
find true happiness, rather than counterfeit happiness. The battle of
pornography is a very big deal that we cannot afford to ignore.

Works Cited
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http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/addiction
Bostwick, J., & Bostwick, B. (2007). Internet Sex Addiction Treated with Naltrexone.
New York: Penguin Books.
Bridges, A. (2010). Pornography's Effect on Interpersonal Relationships. Princeton:
Witherspoon Institiute.
Fagan, P. (n.d.). The Effects of Pornography on Individuals, Marriage, Family and
Community. Retrieved from Familt Research Council:
http://www.frc.org/issuebrief/the-effects-of-pornography-on-individualsmarriage-family-and-community
Hilton, D. (2011). Pornography Addiction: A Neuroscience Perspective. Retrieved
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3050060/
Layden, M. (2010). Pornography and Violence: A New Look at the Research.
Princeton: Witherspoon Institute.
Manning, J. C. (2008). What;s the Big Deal About Pornography. Ann Harbor: Shadow
Mountain.
Moyer, M. W. (2011, July 1). The Sunny Side of Smut. Retrieved from Scientific
American: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-sunny-side-of-smut/
Porn Chnages the Brain. (2014, March 8). Retrieved from Fight the New Drug:
(http://www.fightthenewdrug.org/porn-changes-the-brain/).
Sheila. (2014, March 18). Top 10 Effects of Porn on Your Brain, Your Marriage, and
Your Sex Life. Retrieved from to Love, Honor, and Vaccum:
http://tolovehonorandvacuum.com/2014/03/effects-of-porn-on-your-marriage/
Simpson, R. (2008). Brain Changes. Retrieved from Young Adult Development
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