The Onslaught Of Pornography's Erototoxins On Teens And Society

The Onslaught of Pornography’s Erototoxins on Teens & Society

Marcos Lopez

Abstract

American society has become an increasingly pornographic society. It is clearly seen with billboards, electronic billboards advertising gentlemen’s clubs, and other media sources pumping garbage at a vulnerable young generation of teens. Numerous scientific studies have demonstrated a strong correlation between exposure to pornography and subsequent adverse effects on the brain, mind, health, and the moral substance of teenagers. The explosive growth of the Internet over the last decade and the easily available pornography to be found on the Web activates an additional threat to society.

The Onslaught of Pornography’s Erototoxins on Teens & Society

Perversion has sunk to an all-time low. If we look around these days we can see an environment similar to the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. If we open our eyes and use discernment, we can actually see that morality has slid downhill. For example, when teachers in 1940 were asked to identify top problems in public schools, they inferred, “excessive talking, eating in class, making noise.” In 1990, teachers said, “drug and alcohol abuse, sex, pornography, pregnancy, suicide, rape, robbery, and assault” (Luce, 2005). Of all these top problems, pornography and sex is wreaking havoc in the brain, mind, and memory of this young generation. Statistics prove that our society is now saturated with sex. Pornography is catering to our teens and as a result they are getting a brain makeover. Pornography’s “erototoxins,” a technical term for a type of brain poisoning, provoke attitudes and behavior that lead to critical consequences for teens and for society; thus, an adverse effect on teens in which there is a neurochemical alteration in the brain. Therefore, this alteration impairs the mental, spiritual, and physical health of teens.

No one who is genuinely interested in this young generation of teens can afford to ignore the extremely negative effects of pornography on the still undeveloped teenage brain. The neurochemical alteration of teens’ brains by sexualized media is clear and there is enough medical evidence to prove the damage. For example, science has now proven the connection between today’s sex-saturated media and the neurochemical alteration of the brain. Anatomically the emotional system can act without the aid of the neocortex, which is part of the brain’s cortex associated with human thought and higher intelligence. Emotional reactions and emotional memories can be created without any conscious and cognitive intervention at all; furthermore, the amygdala, an almond-shaped structure of the brain where emotionally charged facts take place, is a memory store-house. Brain scientist, Gary Lynch and his team of scientists at the University of Irvine, found biological evidence that learning includes a physical change in the circuitry of the brain. The brain receives a visual image from the screen, and the signal flashes through the eyes and rushes to the brain in 3/10 of a second. Sexual images have as their core of truth their ability to provoke to anger, hostility, distrust, and hatred in more extreme situations (Reisman, 2003). For example, pornographic images cause the secretion of the body’s “fight or flight” sex hormones and other excitatory transmitters; thus, creating the anger, the hostility, and the distrust.

Electrical stimulation of specific areas of the brain’s cortex brings images of scenes witnessed in the past; so, the language, vision, and hearing association areas have connecting routes for the storage and retrieval of memories that include several types of stimuli. According to Dr. Goleman (2001), as cited in Reisman (2003), “Our emotions have a mind of their own. Unconscious opinions are emotional memories.” The amygdala is the storehouse of emotionally charged memories. The amygdala is the neurochemical alerting systems that brings the body to react to life-threatening situations by fighting or fleeing. The situations or experiences that scare or thrill teens and adults in general are among the most permanent memories.

The undeveloped teen’s brain is psychologically and neurochemically altered by pornography. Teens’ exposure to pornography will result in greater or lesser states of trauma; thus, resulting in altered brain’s normal composition and chemistry. Moreover, the teen victim has a low probability of being aware of the trauma that has altered his brain, mind, emotions, and memory. A specialist in child trauma, Bruce Perry, M.D., Ph.D., discusses child sexual abuse as setting off alarm systems in children that block the child’s cognitive and emotional development (Reisman, 2003). Pornographic images travel to the brain extremely fast; therefore, teens are not aware of the actual damage done to their brain because everything happens so suddenly. Emotions run high and teens exposed to pornography are getting addicted because they keep going back for more of the cheap excitement.

Strong feelings that take the direct pathway through the amygdala are said to be the most potent feelings. This pathway helps to explain the power of emotion to overwhelm rationality. Emotionally threatening and stimulating media bypasses the neocortex, which is an area of human thought and higher intelligence, and the brain area of rational thought. Pornographic stimuli will affect the two brain hemispheres, which are the right and left respectively. For example, strong right hemisphere pictures will psychologically and neurochemically overwhelm weaker left hemisphere speech information.

Society has been falsely indoctrinated that pornography is a harmless and healthy sexual stimulus; however, pornography is detrimental to the human well-being since humans depend on truth in order to keep a healthy biological system and a strong neural network. Teens are now victims of the same false indoctrination; thus, they are susceptible to pornography’s manipulation. Teens’ brains are imprinted by what they see. Media-induced