A few days ago I watched a show called Our America with Lisa Ling and it's basically a documentary-type of show where Lisa Ling explores and investigates the nontraditional way that some Americans live. The episode I watched was about pornography; more specifically about people who make and/or engage in amateur porn for a wide variety of reasons – as a way to make money, as a way to work from home, as a way to boost confidence/self-worth, as a way to temporarily escape "the reality" of life, etc. All of these were some of the topics that the "amateur porn" episode touched on.
The thing about pornography that I find interesting is how addicting it is. I understand how things like drugs and alcohol can be addicting since you are chemically altering your body, but with porn there isn't anything going into your body to chemically alter it. Something interesting that I learned while watching the show, though, was how when you expose your mind to pornography it rewires your brain and the way you think. I'm not sure of the science behind it or the "how" and the "why," but it does.
Something I find sad is that it seems like much of the world views pornography as something that is "acceptable" to be addicted to since it isn't causing physical harm to your body. But the emotional/mental/psychological/sexual effects of pornography can be just as damaging, if not more damaging in some cases. The people in the show were trying to justify porn as something that is "harmless entertainment," but the word "harmless" in association with pornography is an oxymoron, in my humble opinion.
Pornography is immoral and it destroys marriage and families. The addiction to porn usually starts innocently enough when people have a curiosity for this or that or when they are lonely or sexually frustrated, but then it slowly seeps into your life and before you know it whatever it was that started out as an innocent curiosity snowballs into an insatiable, all-consuming addiction that ruins the most important parts of your life, like your marriage, your family and your interactions with friends. Before long you're more interested in spending time with your computer than you are with "real" people.
Watching this show was fascinating, but it left me feeling sad, too. Sad for the people suffering with this compulsion, sad for the marriages/families that it affects, sad for the people who are lonely, sad for the people who feel like they have no other choice (or desire) to make a living, etc.
The thing about pornography that I find interesting is how addicting it is. I understand how things like drugs and alcohol can be addicting since you are chemically altering your body, but with porn there isn't anything going into your body to chemically alter it. Something interesting that I learned while watching the show, though, was how when you expose your mind to pornography it rewires your brain and the way you think. I'm not sure of the science behind it or the "how" and the "why," but it does.
Something I find sad is that it seems like much of the world views pornography as something that is "acceptable" to be addicted to since it isn't causing physical harm to your body. But the emotional/mental/psychological/sexual effects of pornography can be just as damaging, if not more damaging in some cases. The people in the show were trying to justify porn as something that is "harmless entertainment," but the word "harmless" in association with pornography is an oxymoron, in my humble opinion.
Pornography is immoral and it destroys marriage and families. The addiction to porn usually starts innocently enough when people have a curiosity for this or that or when they are lonely or sexually frustrated, but then it slowly seeps into your life and before you know it whatever it was that started out as an innocent curiosity snowballs into an insatiable, all-consuming addiction that ruins the most important parts of your life, like your marriage, your family and your interactions with friends. Before long you're more interested in spending time with your computer than you are with "real" people.
Watching this show was fascinating, but it left me feeling sad, too. Sad for the people suffering with this compulsion, sad for the marriages/families that it affects, sad for the people who are lonely, sad for the people who feel like they have no other choice (or desire) to make a living, etc.
2 comments:
"Pornography is immoral and it destroys marriage and families."
Blanket statements, anyone? Sure, there are people out there who could get addicted to anything, and I'm sure porn is no exception. Are you asserting that there aren't healthy-minded people (including couples that watch it together) that can enjoy it as a diversion while living productive lives?
Sorry for the rant, I just hate it when things like this are portrayed in black and white (the statement that "all porn is inherently violent and degrading towards women" is another pet peeve).
I do believe pornography is immoral. I know that some normal, loving couples might make the choice together to engage in pornography, but I still think it's wrong. Someone, somewhere is being degraded/objectified/exploited, and I don't like that. In my opinion this issue is mostly black-and-white, although I do acknowledge that there ARE at least a few shades of gray in ANY situation.
Thanks for leaving your opinion, though, because I do enjoy hearing what other people think about things! :)
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