Cyber Porn

Kristin Hanson
COMM 2500

Did you know, Every second, $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography, 28,258
Internet viewers are viewing pornography, 372 Internet users are typing adult search
terms into search engines, and every 39 minutes, a new pornographic video is made in the
United States. That was an Internet Filter Review from 2006, so imagine how much
money people are spending on the internet today. Cyberporn is a sadism within society
today that is causing a number of problems for people of all ages.
A huge problem that cyberporn creates is the way women view themselves in
society. Porn objectifies women and it can be easily accessed by anyone via internet.
Sometimes porn is even shown when you are not wanting to see it through pop ups and
cookies on the web. There were 1.3 million porn sites in 2003 and now most of the
internet is used for porn. Studies show that women who are exposed to porn at an early
age are more likely to have rape-supportive attitudes. One study wrote, Early exposure
to pornography was related to subsequent rape fantasies and attitudes supportive of
sexual violence against women. Findings were interpreted in the context of women's
socialization to accept sexual aggression as a sexual/romantic event. So, if young girls
are being exposed to cyberporn then they have the potential of having these issues.
Cyberporn also gives women an unrealistic view of what sex is like so many become
victims of rape or sex crimes.
Another issue that cyberporn feeds is the child pornography perversion. The child
pornography business recorded an annual $3 billion in 2005 and the numbers have only
grown since then. The demand for infant and toddler pornographic images are in high
demand on the internet. The U.S. Customs Service estimates that there are more than
100,000 Web sites offering child pornography - which is illegal worldwide. Revenue

estimates for the industry range from about $200 million to more than $1 billion per year.
These unlawful sexual images can be purchased as easily as shopping at Amazon.com.
"Subscribers" typically use credit cards to pay a monthly fee of between $30 and $50 to
download photos and videos, or a one-time fee of a few dollars for single images. If you
recall in the news lately, Jared, the face of Subway was just caught for having child
pornography on his computer. Later on, they busted him for sleeping with children. He
didnt start out on a good path and now he is going to spend the rest of his life in jail.
Jared got away with it for a long time due to the confidential money he was able to spend
via internet to view child pornography. Many children's pictures have been put on the
internet and other children with access to the internet have been exposed to cyberporn at
an early age. Surveys and questionnaires show results that teenage boys are the ones who
are engaging in cyberporn the most. Although many users admit to looking for the
cyberporn a whopping 60% of them were not actually looking for the porn. Information
from a study says, More research concerning the potential impact of Internet
pornography on youth is warranted, given the high rate of exposure, the fact that much
exposure is unwanted, and the fact that youth with certain vulnerabilities, such as
depression, interpersonal victimization, and delinquent tendencies, have more exposure.
With cyberporn being so easily accessible these children are able to engage in it or are
even offered to while online. It would be hard for someone of that age to realize what
they were getting themselves into. There have been a few different cases recorded of
young children watching porn online and then committing crimes. 11-year-old Josh had
been looking at graphic violent porn on the Internet for 20 minutes immediately before

stabbing 8-year-old Maddie Clifton to death. If cyberporn is a possible cause of these

crimes then why is it still available at the touch of a button?
Another issue that needs to be touched on is how cyberporn effects marriages.
According to Dr. Kevin B Skinner, Every year for the past decade there have been
roughly 1 million divorces in the United States. If half of the people divorcing claim
pornography as the culprit, that means there are 500,000 marriages annually that are
failing due to pornography. That is a pretty devastating statistic. Skinner talks about how
his heart hurts when middle aged men come in with cyberporn addictions and their lives
are failing. He feels bad for women. He thinks porn is a sad addiction. Kevin Skinner
believes that if porn is what you want in the relationship then there can be a healthy way
to go about it and it can be limited.
As you may now know, cyberporn is a serious problem within our society and
something needs to be done to let people know that watching porn can have bad effects
and consequences. In my opinion, porn should not be accessible through the internet. We
need to fight cyberporn for the safety of our children and families. Society should care
about this problem because it is causing a number of other problems where human beings
are suffering and that is enough to do something about it. It would be a great thing to
have workshops for people to understand what it does to the brain and personal life. I also
think that a class in school would be smart or a program like DARE but for cyber porn
usage. The economic costs are a small problem compared to the problems that cyber porn
is causing. It needs to be stopped and we must take action in order for it to stop.

Annotated Bibliography
Wolak, Janis; Mitchell, Kimberly; and Finkelhor, David (2007) Unwanted and Wanted
Exposure to Online Pornography in a National Sample of Youth Internet Users.
Pediatrics 119; 247-257.
In this article it talks about how children are affected by cyber porn. Forty-two percent of
the youth internet users ages 10-17 had been exposed to porn in the year of 2005. Of
those users, 66% of them said they were exposed to unwanted pornography on the
internet. Teens and young adults results reported more unwanted exposure and wanted
exposure was more found in young men. Research shows porn exposure is more common
in those who have depression, interpersonal victimization, certain vulnerabilities and
delinquent tendencies.
More research concerning the potential impact of Internet pornography on youth
is warranted, given the high rate of exposure, the fact that much exposure is
unwanted, and the fact that youth with certain vulnerabilities, such as depression,
interpersonal victimization, and delinquent tendencies, have more exposure.
http://byuresearch.org/ssrp/research.html
Skinner, Kevin B., Ph.D. "Is Porn Really Destroying 500,000 Marriages Annually?"
Psychology Today. N.p., 12 Dec. 2011. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.
In this article by Kevin Skinner, it talks about how porn is destroying marriages around
the country. It is shocking how many marriages claim to have failed due to pornography.
A statistic that Skinner provides is, Every year for the past decade there have been
roughly 1 million divorces in the United States. If half of the people divorcing claim
pornography as the culprit, that means there are 500,000 marriages annually that are
failing due to pornography. That is a HUGE number of people getting divorced due to
pornography. The author suggests that there are ways around it but the statistics pretty
much tell it all. Skinner believes that marriages dont have to end because of porn but he
feels sad when he, as a doctor, has middle aged men coming in with porn addictions that
are ruining their lives. There are people who are not obsessed with porn but there are also
cases where it is ruining marriage and the lives of the family.
My heart hurts for individuals caught in the web of pornography. When you see
grown men crying in your office because they can't quit and when they tell you
that porn is costing them everything, you quickly realize that pornography is not
just a leisurely activity. Then, when you meet a woman who feels rejected, not
good enough, and unloved by her partner because of porn, you want to change
something about the way things are being done.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/inside-porn-addiction/201112/is-porn-reallydestroying-500000-marriages-annually
Corne, Shawn; Briere, John; and Esses, Lillian (1992). Women's Attitudes and Fantasies
about Rape as a Function of Early Exposure to Pornography. Journal of Interpersonal
Violence. 7, 454-461.

In this article a group of female university attendees were asked to respond to a

questionnaire about pornography exposure, rape-supportive attitudes and current sexual
fantasies. It was found that early pornography was related to rape fantasies within women
and some were even supportive to sexual abuse that wouldnt normally be okay. Women
have different ideas of sexual aggression and dont realize certain aggression can be
abuse in the relationship.
Early exposure to pornography was related to subsequent rape fantasies and
attitudes supportive of sexual violence against women. Findings were interpreted
in the context of women's socialization to accept sexual aggression as a
sexual/romantic event.
http://byuresearch.org/ssrp/research.html
Archive of Statistics on Internet Dangers." Enough Is Enough: Protecting Our Children
Online. Enough Is Enough, n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.
In this article, there are facts stated about each different statistic of cyberporn within
children, women, men, ect. The results are pretty shocking.
http://www.enough.org/inside.php?id=E7A5VT6VM