Cindy Sernas

English 1010-020
Jim Beatty
17 December 2015
Pornography and Society
The Internet is used daily by online users. The World Wide Web is an accommodation for
all. And with constant web browsing and the use of social media comes an exposure.
Pornography is accessed without much work and just by a click of a button, it could even be
accidental. Something that many considered as sacred is put out for the world to see. What is
not thought about is how it affects the viewer once it is being watched. And how normal it seems
to be to our society, especially for the youth. The viewers do not put into consideration on how it
affects them with their relationships, their mind, and society.
Yet the issue is not too often discussed between parents and their children. It is an
exploitation that many teenagers encounter daily. Yet many would argue that there are far more
important social issues than online pornography. Horrible things such as human trafficking and
the rape culture we live in. Other adolescents do not have an adult figure in their lives to be
taught all of this. And sharing this information can be uncomfortable for most guardians but as
technology advances the ages of children become younger for them to own a device with internet
making it an issue.
Many of the youth stumble upon these films at a premature age. So young that the films

are there first sex education class. They see the acts and assume that it is all a reality, yet
porn is an illusion to fool the viewers. And just as drugs and alcohol, pornography can be easily
as addictive. As they are watching these films a chemical called dopamine is released to the
brain. The chemical is meant to feel great and soon the viewer wants more of the great feeling.
When relating dopamine to unhealthy things such as pornography it can alter what is morally
correct and incorrect. (fightthenewdrug.org)
Pornography more than often promotes unhealthy things. The content shows the
degrading of women. Women are portrayed as vulnerable, the enjoyment of pain and shown
bruised and cut up. This is promoting gender inequality and dehumanizing women by being
shown as objects. In these films women are also shown to be kidnapped, raped, and beaten. This
is not at all what the youth should be taught. (Philosophy of Pornography, 108)
As the years pass, porn seems to be more violent. This is perpetrating violence towards
woman. It can lead to relationship problems with family members or even a romantic partner. Yet
porn is available for free and for everyone just by a simple search. Presidential candidate Mitt
Romney actually advocated the filter of pornography because of the social problems it was
causing. (Philosophy of Pornography, 105)
As porn becomes more violent there is little thoughts of the actresses/actors and how they
are feeling. There is a thing called editing so there is always ways, things can be hidden or not
seen. Just like any movie there is in-between takes, bright lights and a camera crew. Porn
performers are often asked to do shoots that they are uncomfortable with. These are usually the

violent films. Many of them are in too much pain to continue the scene and have to be
drunk or on drugs to even get through it. This leads to psychological and emotional issues for the
performers. But the viewers never see this side of porn.
In 2014 the word teen was searched 18 billion times on porn sites.
(fightthenewdrug.com) It is a type of pornography that portrays the illusion of underage girls in
the films. They are forced into sexual or of incestuous acts. These girls often show small child
gestures that are rather disturbing. This is affecting the viewers, on what is supposed to be
inappropriate shown as appropriate. It is sexualizing a child's gestures by the use of baby talk,
pig tails and being talked down to. (Age Is in the Eye of the Beholder, 529-532)
Pornography can easily influence one's judgment. So much that there is a correlation with
porn and sex crimes. Pornography has been often imitated in 41% of sex crimes. "Addicts begin
to want more- and end up acting out what they have seen." It is also connected with child
molestation in many cases, for the same reason.(The Philosophy of Pornography)
Although many people; especially boys, find porn so common. They joke about it and is
often seen as the manly thing to do. But the effects are never really talked about. And porn is
only becoming more popular for our society. Porn sites receive more regular traffic than Netflix,
Amazon, and Twitter combined. (fightthenewdrug.org) If so many horrible things are happening
because of porn why is it only becoming more popular? And what can be done?
It only makes sense to learn the facts about pornography. Also realizing how accessible it
really is in this day in age. After, speaking about it to younger peers or family, reassuring them
that what is being shown is not love or even close to real affection. Visiting useful sites with

information and insights can help as well. Reading or learning from previous addicts can be a
better way to understand the negatives of pornography.
Pornography is a part of our culture and society. It will be commonly referenced to as a
hobby. But it is an issue many need to know about. For the older generation it is something that
is frowned upon and not talked about but for the youth it is extremely common. Personalizing
many of the reasons why porn is bad can make it easier to understand. And although there are
many other social issues, pornography is one that leads to many.

Work Cited

Coleman, Lindsay. "Heidegger, Feminism and Pornography." The Philosophy of Pornography:

Contemporary Perspective. Lanham, Maryland. Roman and Littlefield, 2014. (105-110)
Print.
Peters, Evyn M., Todd Morrison, Daragh T. Mdermott, C.J. Bishop, and Mark Kiss. Age Is in
the Eye of the Beholder: Examining the Cues Employed to Construct the Illusion of
Youth in Teen Pornograpy. Sexuality & Culture (2013): 527-546. Print.
"The Brain." Fight The New Drug. Web. 9 Nov. 2015.