Addiction to Internet Pornography

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Pornography is becoming the most popular secret in all of America. Only 13.9% of young men don’t view pornography, and of those who do, 51% of male students and 32% of female students first viewed pornography before age 13 (Gilkerson). 21.3% of college males watch it daily or multiple times a day (Gilkerson).

Not only has porn become more popular, it has become more available and much more explicit. Years ago, the most explicit pornography that one could access was a Playboy magazine, but today that is known as ‘softcore porn’. In today’s world of high-speed Internet, extremely graphic videos of every conceivable genre of sex can be found for free at the click of a button (Clay).

With technology becoming easier and easier to use and in part due to the high sexual emphasis in the American culture, men and women are being exposed to pornography earlier and earlier, with the average age being about 12 for men and 13 for women (Gilkerson). These children easily keep their internet wanderings secret from their less technologically savvy parents, as about 62% of teens say their parents know little or nothing about the websites they visit (San Diego Court).

While it is certainly interesting to see how deeply pornography has permeated our culture, it does nothing to show whether this is good or bad. Many defend their right to record, publish, sell, buy, and view pornography, but that is not the real question. Rational people will decide for themselves what they should do about it and parents will decide what they need to do for their children, but first pornography must analyzed. Only after the pros and cons are measured should the policy be altered.

The pornography of today is a relatively recent phenomenon, with high speed interne...

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