Having been battled against by legislation, pornography has found a new home in cyberspace. Most people will object to child pornography, and the exposure of children to explicit material, opinions on the essence and value of pornography are varied. But even liberal voices such as my own, which do not oppose pornography for consenting adults, might be dumbfounded by to learn of the relatively new form of addiction that has been created by the Internet. While enjoying pornography on the web may be just as healthy or as hazardous as getting it from the TV or Playboy magazine, a fine line might be crossed, and a quick decent into addiction can change the life of the addict, causing harm to the individual, to the individual’s relationships, and to friends and family.
The people at risk are a group of people that have been unable to pursue their pornographic interests due to fear of exposure resulting from purchasing books, magazines, or visiting sex shops; these people are now able to gain limitless access to their habit via the Internet and avoid all social constraints and other inhibitions. “There may be a hapless subgroup here who would not have managed to develop a compulsive pursuit of ...sexual behavior because of [societal] constraints and inconveniences. The Internet erases most of these, and the vulnerable subgroup is then at the mercy of their hardwiring”(Carroll). The population that is may considered to be at risk from over exposure to web based pornography is only small part of he overall users. If the defining criterion is set at 11 or more weekly hours of use, the figure of over exposure users is less than a tenth of all users. “There is a small group of users - about 8 percent - who report spending 11 hours or more a week in online sexual pursuits, says Cooper, who is also an MSNBC ‘Sexploration’ columnist. But for the vast majority of users, particularly men, online love ‘is a form of entertainment — akin to reading Playboy or viewing Baywatch,’ says Cooper, who has been referred to as the Masters and Johnson of cybersex”(Media Issues: Internet Issues).
What actually makes the difference between exposure and obsessive, harmful exposure is not merely the amount of time that is spent surfing through pornographic sites; the defining difference is addictive behavior patterns such as obstructions to normal life, feelings of guilt, and an inability to quit. “There is likely a vulnerable subgroup who now find themselves having trouble putting on the brakes, and cybersex begins to take up more and more of their time. They crave it. They find it beginning to interfere with other activities and relationships and that it resists attempts to stop or cut down. These are the hallmarks of addiction”(Carroll). The specifics of how an innocent fantasy turns into an obsessive addiction to any medium of pornography are complex and still unclear, but when the act is pleasurable, it may cause a strong reinforcement; when mixed with the sensation of forbidden fruits and the excitement of taboo can become an overcoming psychological magnet. After being pulled into obsession, the pleasure might subside and only the addiction remains. “…if a fantasy becomes a controlling force in a person’s life, the play element may be completely eliminated”(Masters at-el 264). In deed, if individuals are putting time into web-based erotica instead of in their relationships, jobs, and their own lives, they may be labeled addicted. “A recent MSNBC.com survey found that as many as 80 percent of visitors to sex sites were spending so much time tracking down erotica on the computer that they were putting their real-life relationships and/or jobs at risk. Until they discovered cybersex, most of these people had no problems with sexual addition”(Carroll). Another risk not mentioned in the related sources is that beside neglecting one’s life, CyberPorn may at some cases eliminate any other sexual behavior that the individual would normally have, due to the fact that it is very hard to top fantasy; people may reject their relationship, or stop having sex because it just doesn’t measure to their Internet experiences. What is agreed upon is that addiction to virtual porn is unhealthy. ‘Greater use of the Internet was associated with subsequent declines in family communication, reduced social ties outside of the household, and increased loneliness over time. Heavy reliance on the Internet at home caused an increase in depressive moods over time”(Facts about Pornography).
While working on this paper, I had to consider whether or not my own liberal Internet curiosity is maladaptive and addictive. Several web-based tests for cyber-porn addiction exist; it is advisable that people who have a doubt take such a test to make sure that one’s habits aren’t becoming a Habit.
References
Carroll, L. (2001). Addicted to online porn.
Facts about Pornography. (No Author). (2000).
Masters, W. H., Johnson, V. E., & Kolodny, R. C. (1985). Sex and Human Loving. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
Media Issues: Internet Issues (No Author). (2000).
