Problems Of Ponography

This is a paper that explores the problems of pornography. It will be my purpose to identify the ways in which pornography is harmful to our society. Secondly I will describe two of the most troublesome and important issues involving pornography and finally I will present a series of ideas on how to solve these issues. I believe that pornography and its messages help shape attitudes and encourage behaviors that can harm individual users and their families. I believe pornography affects every person in our society; and furthermore I believe that unless the problems described in my paper are taken into consideration society will continue to be exposed to the numerous types of pornography.

Identifying the Problem

Many people think that pornography is just harmless fun and that it has no negative effects. However, it is almost impossible not to be affected by pornography, legal or not (Lloyd). Research has shown that pornography and its messages are involved in shaping attitudes and encouraging behavior that can harm individual users and their families. Pornography is often viewed in secret, which creates dishonesty within marriages that can lead to divorce in some cases. In addition, pornography promotes the allure of adultery, prostitution and unreal expectations that can result in dangerous promiscuous behavior. Young people growing up in our already overly sexualized culture are being exposed to sexually explicit material on a daily basis through network television, movies, music and the Internet. Children are being subjected to sexual material and messages before they are mentally prepared to understand or assess what they are viewing.

Describing the Problem

Pornography is nothing new to human society. Today's pornography has reached a level of degradation and violence that is astounding. While some may argue that pornography is restricted to those over the age of 18, this is simply untrue. The age at which children have access to pornography is becoming lower as a result of the internet. Even with the most severe measures taken to protect children and young adults from this kind of content, they are bound to run across it at some point, whether it is through spontaneous email or a lewd popup. Internet filters do little to protect children, for it takes minimum of effort to find a way over this hurdle. Furthermore, free speech issues make it difficult to establish full internet filtering. Because of these issues, it can be very difficult to censor problematic content. Children may find access, even accidentally, through friends, email, or as a result of uninterested or technologically naive parents (Nelson).

Pornography is as addictive as any drug and can potentially destroy a family. The person who becomes involved with it will have increasing sexual demands of his or her partner, particularly standards of physical perfection that are off limits for the average person. The likelihood of abuse toward spouse, children, or others increases exponentially, leading to criminal activity, and it can even cause a serious financial burden on the family (Allen). Think about the women in pornography. They look very much the same possibly creating a fantasy image for a young boy or girl. Men may also treat woman poorly because of some fantasy of wanting a porn star and if they don't have that in their current relationship, they treat the woman poorly or expect more than she is willing to provide.

Possible Solutions

Viewing pornography may not be illegal, but it sure had it's affect on society in a bad way. With the development of chat rooms comes the risk of underage boys and girls being subjected to immature adult actions caused by the fantasy that pornography creates. A computer should be a learning tool and parents should not be afraid to let their children on them, because they may be directed to the wrong place at