Introduction
Pornography can be defined as the utilization of different means of communication as a way of bringing out sexual-related feelings. It has existed from the 15th century. The exploitation may be in the field of indecent exposure or nudity to actual sexual activities. Pornography is usually channeled through different forms of communication like magazines, books, music, and film, and most recently the Internet. It indication of how tolerant a community is when it comes to sexually related matters.
In pornography, sex is degraded to a state that human are treated like objects, and this is accredited to the increase in the number of sexual crimes. Pornography use leads to addiction. Addiction is when a person uses pornography to a position a person becomes dependent on something cannot live without it.
The attachment is psychological in nature, and symptomized by the desire to see, understand and practice pornography. An individual cannot control tendencies to be in contact with pornography. When denied the payment the person will experience a sense of unwellness, and satisfying it leads to instant gratification (Adler, 2001).
Several theories have been brought forth describe the society as a social unit. The various social units in the society act as different organs in the society. A society is said to be healthy when all the organs it has are working properly, each carrying out its part effectively. Problems like pornography are experienced when some of these organs have failed in their functions.
Main body
Pornography comes in different categories. They are those that come in the form of adult magazines. These are magazines that have content that is sexually oriented information. They are legal under the supreme laws of the united stated of America. They can be found at bookstores. The other form is in the form of cassettes. This has made it easier for people to watch these pornographic movies at their own convenient time and place.
Pornography can also come in the form of unregulated cable television. This is a preferred means or those individuals who could never go into a store to buy a movie. They can have the same content supplied at the comfort of their own homes.
Just like any other social problem pornography has those issues that give rise to it. In most schools these days the youths are not provided with the relevant sex education. This leads to curiosity as far as the topic is concerned. Teenagers are naturally explorative. In this quest, they get exposed to these pornographic materials and with time an addiction is inevitable.
Another reason for the rise of pornographic addiction is that people have varying opinions as far as sexual matters are concerned. Tradition has defined the male as the most active and aggressive of the two sexes. This is both in perusing and the actual sexual act (Clayborne, 2010). This has led to people wanting to have information about if these roles can change a classical case of defying these traditional roles.
Children growing up these days are facing with plenty of challenges, unlike older days. The family has become dysfunctional and psychological problems may make one in the future experience different sexual orientations. Pornography provides information on this for those with the condition.
Television programs have become acutely sexually suggestive, especially on how it depicts women. This arouses the curiosity of the viewers for they want to see more of these suggestions. They find their way to sexually oriented material in this way. People are found to use pornography as a means of escaping from their problems.
Sexual disappointment in the marriage setup has also been attributed to this addiction. Depression, boredom, and low self-esteem are other reasons that may push one to pornography addiction. The users of pornography often find a brief moment to escape into a world of fantasy. This need to escape more needed but with time the user becomes less and less fulfilled but then cannot do without it.
So how does one know that one is an addict to pornography? This is when one starts experiencing unmanageable sexual behavior that has negative effects on the individual but the individual is not able to stop these behaviors. We all experience problems at different points of our lives. Using pornography as a coping skill is an indication of an addiction. When one can forego prominent family and social responsibilities just to have time for pornography involvement, this is also a sign of a problem.
Another indicator based on the amount of time he is willing to use in getting close to pornographic content. This is also shown by the persistent will in engaging in destructive behavior even after it having negative effects on his finances, well-being, and even social life. These behaviors are motivated by the following Un truths on the part of the addict; that the y are not acceptable, people; that no one can ever love them as they are; that their sexual needs can not be met if they depend on other people; and sex is a paramount need they need to meet in their lives. These beliefs develop as one goes through childhood. It is in childhood that most addictions start.
Pornography is seen as a condition to various social problems. Addicts are antisocial beings that have an unusually low opinion about women and are ready readily to accept explanations that tend to justify sexual crimes like rape, sodomy, etc. socially it has had profound effects whereby incidences of child molestation have been directly linked to pornography. Serial murderers have a history of having an addiction for pornography.
Addiction to pornography starts at that point where one gets exposed to its content. Exposure may lead to addiction. People exposed would want to come back for more. By his time, the things that once appeared shocking to the individual are not shocking anymore. They finally start replicating the content of these pornographic materials as a way of living their fantasies.
It could be inaccurate to believe that pornography is just a hobby for adults to relive their sexual fantasies. Children are the most affected by pornography. The habit creates pedophiles, and the later prey on children to satisfy their curiosity (Kendall, 2004). Men who view pornography will often find a way of replaying the scenes with young teen as portrayed in the movies. Children exposed to these materials have the images engraved in their minds, and these might become manifest later on in life. It also makes them grow up having a crazy idea on human intimacy. These children may become sexual deviants in the society. Parents directly involved in the pornographic industry expose their children to mood swings, anger and are most likely to violate sexually their children.
According to Clayborne, children possess a large number of cells in their brain that can soak up a lot of information. Most of the issues that manifest in our behavior, in our adulthood, are as a result of what we get exposed to in our childhood. Children have the habit of acting out what they see. Viewing of pornography can make children act out on more vulnerable kids as a means of repeating what they say.
To the men, pornography leads to a society that has no males that are willing to take up their responsibilities. It is an expensive habit to maintain, and this leads to financial insecurity. It leads the men to an angry lot, hardly available for their kids, always angry and seemingly lost in their fantasies. Women in the pornographic industry are at a big risk. The experience is violent and hurtful and they may end up contracting sexually transmitted diseases (Slade, 2009).
In the marriage setting it can cause the spouses to have the lack of sexual interest in each other. They may want to act out the perverted scenes on their partners. The Habit may also weaken the couple’s financial strength as it is expensive to maintain. Several measures are at our dismissal for us to use to check on pornography. Parents should take up their roles as educators (Wendz, 2008). The media that exposes us to pornography should be checked, and parents should not shy away from discussing this content with their children. The government should use the machinery available to them to check on the production and distribution of pornographic content.
Conclusion
Looking at the problem of pornography from the perspective of social structuralism is ideal. This is because the problem is social in nature and it is caused by several organs of the society failing in their functions. Such are the family, the government and also the state. These are integrated organs and need each other for the whole to be well. It however, draws a criticism that these organs perhaps need to be considered in seclusion.
References
Adler, A. (2001). Child porn and the Web. Boston: Boston Law Review 101(2):209– 273.
Clayborne. J (2010) Grimes: Porn references were fictional. London: Oxford University Press.
Kendall, N. (2004) Gay Male Pornography: An Issue of Sex Discrimination. Vancouver: UBC Press.
Slade. J (2009) Pornography in America: A Reference Handbook. Chicago: ABC-CLIO.
Wendz. M. (2008) Review – The Porn Trap. New Jersey: McGraw Hill.