The Impact of Pornography on Adolescent:

Pornography use today is becoming more mainstream and normalized, especially since the advent of high-speed internet. The influence of internet pornography has been debated and researched by numerous disciplines as the internet is expanding throughout the world. The internet has become the central vehicle for the distribution of pornography, which has altered the way in which individuals use pornography.The internet makes pornography available, because nearly everyone has internet access; the use of pornography has become anonymous, because one can access pornography without anyone else knowing about it; the internet makes pornography affordable, because one no longer has to spend on a VHS tape or DVD because the majority of internet pornography is free; and finally, the internet makes pornography increasingly addictive, because it removes all barriers to access, and because of the sheer quantity of content, both of which have contributed to heightened levels of arousal that were not prevalent in pornography users before the advent of internet. In discussing the influence of pornography use, it is important to define pornography and its distinction from erotica. In one study, Senn and Radtke (1990) differentiated between violent pornography, non-violent pornography and erotica:“Violent pornography” contains “images that portray explicit violence of varying degrees perpetuated against one individual (usually female) by another (usually male).” “Non-violent pornography” contains “images that have no explicitly violent content but may imply acts of submission or violence by the positioning of the models or the use of props. They may also imply unequal power relationships by differential dress, costuming, positioning or by setting up the viewer as a voyeur (e.g., the model is engaged in some solitary activity and seems totally unaware or very surprised to find someone looking at her).” “Erotica” contains “sexual images that have as their focus the depiction of mutually pleasurable sexual expression between people who have enough power to be there by positive choice. They have no sexist or violent connotations and are hinged on equal power dynamics between individuals as well as the camera/photographer”.
EXPOSURE TO PORNOGRAPHY IS COMMON IN ADOLESCENCE:

Recent studies suggest that exposure to sexual material is common. Fifteen percent of 12–17 year old children report looking at ‘X-rated’ material either online or through traditional mediums. When unwanted exposure also is included, 42% of such 12–17 year old in one nationally representative survey report any exposure to x-rated material online, 20 and 70% of such 15–17 year old internet users in another nationally representative survey reported accidentally viewing pornography online ‘‘very’’ or ‘‘somewhat’’ often. In a study of 876 young people aged 15-25 years in Sweden who visited a youth center for a period of one year, “nearly all of the participants had viewed pornographic movies (among those 15 years of age, 98.9% of boys and 73.5% of girls). The majority of males (62.7%) responded positively toward pornography, describing it as ‘stimulating’ and ‘cool,’ but about all ‘exciting’.
EXPOSURE TO PORNOGRAPHY HAS NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT AND RELATIONSHIPS:Using a study of 2,343 Dutch 13-20 year olds found frequent exposure to sexually explicit materials (pornography) via the internet was related to greater sexual uncertainty (i.e., clarity of one’s sexual beliefs or values) and more positive attitudes toward uncommitted sexual exploration (i.e., sexual relations with casual partners). Prolonged exposure to pornography leads to exaggerated perception of sexual activity in the populace (e.g. sodomy, group sex, sadomasochistic practices and bestiality). It also creates dispositional changes including diminished trust in intimate partners, the abandonment of hopes for sexual exclusivity with partners and the evaluation of promiscuity as the natural state. It fosters cynical attitudes about love, and sexual pleasures are considered attainable without affection toward partners. A rigorous meta-analysis of 46 studies provides clear evidence confirming that pornography exposure is one important factor contributing directly to the development of sexually dysfunctional attitudes and behaviours. The adverse effects of pornography exposure identified include: developing sexually deviant tendencies; committing sexual offenses; experiencing difficulties in one’s intimate relationships; and accepting rape myths (e.g. a rape victim deserved to be raped because of how she dressed).PORNOGRAPHY EXPOSURE CONTRIBUTES TO SEXUAL AGGRESSION IN SOME USERS:A study of 804 Italian males and females aged 14 to 19 found pornography use and sexual violence were significantly correlated. Females who watched pornographic videos were at significantly greater likelihood of being a victim of sexual harassment or sexual assault, while males who viewed pornography were significantly more likely to report having sexually harassed a peer or forcing someone to have sex. Among the 10-15 year old respondents surveyed nationally in the Growing up with Media Study, self-reports of intentional exposure to ‘x-rated’ violent material are associated with significantly higher odds of reporting perpetration of sexually aggressive behavior. This association remains significant even after a range of risk factors are considered. Importantly the relationship between ‘x-rated’ material and sexually aggressive behavior appears to be driven by the violent content of the ‘x-rated’ material. When violent and nonviolent ‘x-rated’ material are examined separately, consumers of violent ‘x-rated’ material are almost six times more likely than non-consumers of violent ‘x-rated’ material to report sexually aggressive behavior. In contrast, consumers of non-violent ‘x-rated’ material are statistically equally likely to report sexually aggressive behavior compared to those who report no consumption of non-violent ‘x-rated’ material.In a study of 483 seventh and eighth grade boys increased exposure to sexually explicit media at the study’s outset predicted more frequent sexual harassment perpetration two years later, even considering controls (i.e. demographics, pubertal status, and sensation seeking).A growing body of evidence indicates that high-frequency pornography use or consumption of violent pornography among boys and young men intensifies attitudes supportive of sexual coercion and increases their likelihood of perpetrating assault.Sexually Reactive Children and Adolescents (SRCA’s) are individuals who engage in sexually inappropriate and/or coercive acts with other youth and adults. Such children and adolescents are often victims of neglect, sexual, physical, and/or emotional abuse. SRCAs who used pornography were 5.1 times more likely to engage in coerced vaginal penetration, and 4.9 times more likely to have engaged in sex with animals than a nonusing cohort.In a sample of 312 juvenile sexual offenders and non-sexual offenders, more than 50% percent of both groups saw some form of pornography before age 10, and nearly all youth were exposed to pornography after age 10. Pornography was not found to have a correlation with the age at which sexually offending youth began abusing others, the severity of their offenses, the total number of their victims, or degree of force used in their offending behaviors. However, pornography exposure was significantly correlated with their sexual arousal toward males under 12, masochism, males and females aged 13-18, and sadism. Additionally pornography exposure prior to age 10 was significantly correlated with felony assault, general delinquency, felony theft, drug sales, alcohol use, drug use, robbery, public disorderly conduct, and property damage.ADOLESCENTS AT RISK:Pornography viewing among teenagers disorients them during that developmental phase when they have to learn how to handle their sexuality and when they are most vulnerable to uncertainty about their sexual beliefs and moral values. A study of 2,343 adolescents found that sexually explicit internet material significantly increased their uncertainties about sexuality. The study also showed that increased exposure to sexually explicit internet material increased favorable attitudes toward sexual exploration with others outside of marriage and decreased marital commitment to the other spouse.Another study by Todd G. Morrison, professor of psychology at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada and colleagues found that adolescents exposed to high levels of pornography had lower levels of sexual self-esteem. A significant relationship also exists between frequent pornography use and feelings of loneliness, including major depression.Finally, viewing pornography can engender feelings of shame: In a study of high school students, the majority of those who had viewed pornography felt some degree of shame for viewing it. However, 36 percent of males and 26 percent of females said they were never ashamed of viewing pornography, 10 giving some idea of the level of desensitization already reached in society. High adolescent consumption of pornography also affects behavior. Male pornography use is linked to significantly increased sexual intercourse with non-romantic friends, 11 and is likely a correlate of the so-called “hook-up” culture. Exposure to pornographic sexual content can be a significant factor in teenage pregnancy. A three year longitudinal study of teenagers found that frequent exposure to televised sexual content was related to a substantially greater likelihood of teenage pregnancy within the succeeding three years. This same study also found that the likelihood of teenage pregnancy was two times greater when the quantity of that sexual content exposure, within the viewing episodes, was high rather than low.ADOLESCENT EXPOSURE TO PORNOGRAPHY IN THE MEDIA:The phenomenal growth of mass media during the late 20^th century and particularly the establishment of the internet, has vastly increased accessibility to pornography and other sexually-related information. This creates a major obstacle to the healthy development of sexuality, especially among youth. Though most U.S. parents (78 percent) are worried about their adolescents accessing internet pornography, not all teenagers readily take to this sexualized culture. Most start out being ill at ease with any display of pornography: they tend to be upset or embarrassed, with reactions ranging from fear to shame to anger to fascination.In one survey, about a quarter were “very” upset by this exposure, but they tend not to report it. Adolescents often come across pornography accidentally on the internet. One study found that 70 percent of youth aged 15 to 17 accidentally came across pornography online. A study of 1,501 youth aged ten to seventeen examined unwanted exposure incidents more thoroughly: in 26 percent of the cases, respondents reported that when they tried to exit an unwanted site, they were actually brought to an additional sex site. The same study showed that out of the total number of unwanted exposure incidents, 44 percent of the time the youth did not disclose the episode to anyone else.These initial reactions of disgust, however, rapidly dissipate so that older adolescents tend to use sexually explicit Internet material more often than younger adolescents and are twice as likely to report intentional pornography use as are younger adolescents. Repeated exposure to pornography eventually wipes out any feelings of shame and disgust and gives way, instead, to unadulterated enjoyment.A 2005 survey showed that respondents who reported unintentional exposure to pornography were over 2.5 times as likely to then report intentional exposure as those who did not report any unintentional exposure. It seems the unintentional exposure has its effect of bringing them back for more, which of course is one of the fears of parents. Several factors predict an adolescent’s use of pornography. Teenagers who watch pornography more frequently tend to be high sensation seekers, less satisfied with their lives, have a fast Internet connection, and have friends who are younger. Adolescents are at greater risk for intentionally seeking out sexual material when they have high levels of computer use. The more time spent on the computer, the more likely these adolescents will search for sexually explicit content. Not surprisingly, given all that has already been reported, viewers who masturbate while viewing sexually explicit material assess the material more favorably than those who do not masturbate. There is a difference between boys’ and girls’ reasons for seeking pornographic sites, differences that parallel the different patterns of adult male and female use of pornography. Boys tend to seek pornography initially because they are curious or want sexual arousal, while girls tend first to go to non-pornographic but sexually oriented sites for sexual health or relationship-related information. Also, the impacts are different for boys and girls: males report more positive memories of sexually explicit material than females and report “more positive attitudes toward uncommitted sexual exploration” as their use of pornography increases. In one study, adolescents who watched the highest level of sexual content on television doubled the likelihood they would initiate intercourse.PORNOGRAPHY IN THE CONTEXT OF MODERNITY’S SOCIAL AND SEXUAL PROBLEMS:Nearly two-thirds of United States high-school students have had sexual intercourse by grade twelve. Of these sexually active high-schoolers, 70 percent of females and 55 percent of males report that they wish they had waited instead. These numbers have massive implications for the future of the American family, for of women who have had three sexual partners other than their eventual husband, only 39 percent will be in a stable marriage by their mid-thirties.
In 2007, 20 percent of U.S. girls in grade 12 already have had sexual intercourse with four or more partners. The vast majority of their children will grow up without their fathers present. As the said data make clear, pornography further misshapes this already dysfunctional sexuality and the consumption of pornography can become a destructive addiction as well. This sexual malformation not only affects the consumer of pornography, but also weakens those close to him or her. Habitual consumption of pornography can break down the relational substrates of human life and interaction—family, friends and society. As such, reinforcing these relationships is the surest guard against such destructive sexual tendencies. The closer adult men were to their fathers growing up, the fewer non-marital sexual behaviors they engage in and the greater their levels of marital happiness and family satisfaction.
The proportion of adolescents who rate their fathers as very close to them is highest among those from intact married families (40 percent) and lowest among those from single-parent families (three percent). Society benefits when it fosters a healthy sexuality. Human beings are healthiest and happiest when they are monogamous (only one sexual partner in a lifetime) and that happiness is directly related to monogamy’s long-term stability and exclusivity. Healthy relationships yield additional positive sexual outcomes. Some research indicates that married couples have the most frequent, and Conservative Protestant women have the most enjoyable, sexual relations.
The supreme and tragic irony is that, while the desire for the highest levels of sexual fulfillment are likely the motive for many adolescents’ first peek into pornography, the attainment of that universal longing is most likely to be had through monogamy and regular participation in religious worship. These insights, until recently, were common social assumptions and institutionalized patterns. Until the dawn of the sexual revolution and, later, the digital age, they were reflected in a public opprobrium of pornography. One 1994 study found that 71 percent favored a total ban on sexually violent movies and 77 percent a total ban on sexually violent magazines. Only eight percent thought that there should be no restrictions on the former, and only three percent thought there should be no restrictions on the latter. Concerning merely sexually explicit magazines, less than 10 percent thought there should be no restrictions on the material.
The cultural censure of disordered sexuality that enables stable family life has faded with the proliferation of Internet pornography. As a result, the effects of hyper-sexualization permeate society. Today’s youth are reaching puberty earlier, engaging in sexual intercourse sooner, while “Emerging Adults” are cohabiting more, having children out of wedlock and getting married significantly later or not at all. The key to militating against these damaging patterns and to protecting against the effects of pornography is to foster relationships of affection and attachment in family.
The first and most important relationship is between the father and the mother. The second is engaged parents who love their children. In today’s technological society, this means limiting, monitoring, and directing their children’s Internet use. This, in turn, provides an invaluable shield against Internet pornography and allows room for a healthy sexuality to unfold in a natural and socially supported way. In our over-sexualized culture, with a longer pre-marriage period, children need the capacity for abstinence if their sexuality is to be channeled into stable marriage, procreation, and healthy family life for their children. Strong families remain the best defense against the negative effects of pornography, especially when aided by regular religious worship with all the benefits it brings.
STATISTICAL DATA: CONCLUSION:Contemporary society is alarmingly sexualized, and the traditional sexual taboos of a well-functioning society have broken down. Pornography has never been as accessible by and popular with young adults as it is today. The Internet has made pornography use mainstream and commonplace, influencing attitudes about sexuality, women, and relationships. What we need now is a re-conceptualization of harm from repeated exposure to pornography. Past and current research indicate a significant difference between individuals who are exposed repeatedly to pornography and those who are not, in the areas of attitudes toward women and sexual assault, number of sexual partners, and relationship satisfaction. The fundamental role of government (including the courts) is to protect innocent citizens, most especially children and adolescents, and to protect the sound functioning of the basic institutions of family, church, school, marketplace, and government. They are all interdependent. Pornography, clearly, undermines both marriage and the family, and has a host of ill effects. It is time for government to reassess its laissez-faire attitude towards the proliferation of pornography, especially on the Internet. Our present and future families need protection from this insidious enemy of love, affection, and of family and social stability.
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