For many, the title of this article might seem odd. How could something so minor have such serious implications on one’s life? Well, let’s take a step back and think about the first time you were introduced to this “magical world.” Upon viewing those clips, what emotions did you feel? How did your brain and body react to those seemingly-harmless pixels on the screen? If I had to guess, the answer isn’t detached or apathetic, but something more along the lines of enthralled, captivated, and maybe even temporarily possessed.
Quite frankly, the most dangerous thing in society is not corruption, low wages, poor education, or destructive political ideologies - it is pleasuring yourself to naked people performing on screen, giving you a false sense of engagement when in reality, you are interacting with something that you are completely detached from. This formulation may sound a bit harsh, but I can assure you that the consequences of ignoring what porn does to your brain are even worse.
Before diving into the details, we should address the following question directly: “What is a porn addiction?” This is a sexually compulsive behavior in which a person begins to view pornography in order to either self-pleasure or to avoid responsibilities such as work, academic assignments, chores, etc. The point in which this act takes prioritization in your life over things such as work, school and fulfilling hobbies is the moment when it can be classified as an addiction. If you are curious as to whether or not you are facing this addiction, try going 30 days without consuming pornography. I guarantee that it will be much harder than you think!
So, you might ask yourself the following: “Why is porn bad for you? What possible effects could it have on my daily life?” Well, some of the following symptoms might sound familiar to you:
While we cannot claim that correlation equals causation, most people that use porn on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis often state these as symptoms in their life for which they do not understand the root cause. However, let’s get back to the initial question: Why is pornography harmful? Well, let’s start with the fact that porn is an easy way to achieve a high level of satisfaction, without taking any significant risks. In other words, you are receiving practically the highest award a human can achieve (sexual fulfilment) all the while skipping the entire journey and process of finding a partner, building a meaningful relationship, and fighting through the unavoidable obstacles that appear along the way. As Jordan Peterson put it: “Porn is the expedient at the expense of the meaningful.”
It is the equivalent of receiving all the trophies in a video game before completing the storyline or earning your diploma without having to take a single class. Yes, you’ve met the end goal, but have you truly earned it? The truth is that pornography turns us into weak, depressive, anti-social slaves with no willpower to pursue our goals and face life's unavoidable challenges.
According to Pasadena Villa, some of the most common psychological disorders found in our society today are Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, OCD, and ADHD. Furthermore, the World Health Organization claims that there has been a 13% rise in mental health conditions and substance use disorders within the last 10 years. While several factors may play a role, pornography addiction is certainly among the top of that list for various reasons.
Now you may be pondering upon the following question: “Is watching porn bad for your health, and what is the relationship between porn addiction problems and disorders?” If this is the case, then understand that people that compulsively watch porn are subject to Hypofrontality, a state in which there is decreased blood flow in the prefrontal cortex of the brain and is commonly associated with schizophrenia, ADHD, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder. Furthermore, people that periodically watch porn become less conscious of their actions and the proceeding consequences. Because of this, they frequently begin to act compulsively, and whenever they are confronted in regards to this problem, they enter a state of self-denial.
As a large percentage of porn users are college students, they often find it difficult to sit down and concentrate on their work as they find their minds constantly wandering when attempting to be productive. Such problems can have detrimental effects on their academic standing and self-esteem, and users finding themselves in similar circumstances should understand that Assignment24 is here to help. We understand the academic stress that college puts on students, and our goal is to make your experience as enjoyable as possible. Therefore, if you ever need help with an assignment, consult with us by clicking the button below and one of our experts will be happy to assist you!
When you watch pornography and engage in masturbation, your brain releases an excessive amount of dopamine. Now you may be asking yourself: “Why is this bad?” Well, dopamine acts as a reward center in our brain and is responsible for things such as memory, movement, motivation, mood, and attention. Without it, we would be the equivalent of mindless zombies strolling around with no direction or goal for our lives. With that in mind, it is safe to say that we should be careful with the management of our precious dopamine, right?
Well, the more often you watch porn, the more you overload your dopamine receptors, and the more intense videos you will need to watch to receive the same pleasurable effects later on. This is also known as the Coolidge effect and was initially tested on rats to observe their behavior when being surrounded by a variety of rats of the opposite gender. The rats would go on to mate until they nearly died of dehydration and exhaustion, as the reward of sex and the dopamine-driving factor of novelty were in abundance.
Our brains are in constant pursuit of novelty. With video games, porn sites, and social media, our brain always has the next thing to be excited about, because those substances are engineered to trigger constant dopamine release. Moreover, the only other comparisons we can make in equivalent dopamine triggers to pornography are drugs like amphetamine, morphine, and nicotine.
Another question you might be asking yourself is: “Is it bad to watch porn while in a committed relationship?” Well, sexuality is very bendable and easy to change and condition. Furthermore, men that frequently use porn view tend to view women as sexual objects. Therefore, even in a committed relationship, constant pornography use can lead to a heightened desire for novelty, inevitably leading to dissatisfaction with your partner and eventual breakup. Statistically speaking, partners in a relationship that watch porn are 300% more likely to cheat. If your relationship is important to you, the best thing to do is to avoid it altogether.
To gain a deeper understanding of the potential dangers of pornography in human life, we have to take a trip back in time, before this drug was ever introduced to humanity. First and foremost, we must understand that sex is our main biological goal, instinct, and motivator. It is more rewarding to us than food, water, money, status, etc. On top of that, all of mankind’s greatest ever achievements, from the wheel to the iPhone, originated from sexual desire.
As our ancestors never had access to such potent substances, they had to find alternative methods to release dopamine, usually through the completion of difficult, yet rewarding tasks. It is important to recognize that they were able to “face and beat their dragons” in part thanks to the built-up sexual energy their body had stored, as sex was harder to come by, and there were no alternative methods like sex toys and pornography we have nowadays.
In other words, wars were fought, destructive ideologies were torn down, and revolutions for the greater good of humanity were all cultivated from the storage of innate sexual desire and its effect on the human body and mind.
Now, let me ask you a question: Can a person that has completely lost their moral and ethical image by constantly pleasuring themselves to pixels, work on solving a problem like corruption or the destruction of evil ideologies?
No, because weak people can only complain. Also, to be quite frank, if our ancestors and grandparents saw the low level to which we stoop, they would smack us upside the head, and they would be right for doing so. Furthermore, ask yourself another question: Do the highest and most elite people in our society that control everything, watch porn? No, because they spend their time making decisions that will directly impact the totality of the world.
From a historical point of view, our goal is to complete the highest sexual good of humanity - sexuality incorporated with a functional, intimate, and committed relationship. It is also important to note the key differentiator between pornography and sex and masturbation, as our primitive brain struggles to do so. Unlike pornography or masturbation, actual sex leads to the release of oxytocin, which is the chemical responsible for the feeling of love and bonding, something that we all aspire to, while porn and masturbation exclusively lead to a large release of dopamine with an afterthought of regret.
So, what good are words without relevant data, right? I might as well be preaching to the choir. Well, let me share some numbers with you that will make you think twice before writing off this article.
In 2008, only about 5% of kids (before the age of ten) watched porn every day. In 2014, that number reached 14%, and in 2017 it reached 40%. That means that 4 out of 10 kids UNDER THE AGE OF 10 watch pornography daily. This is far from normal, considering that the majority of these children have not even reached puberty yet. Furthermore, the younger a human is when developing a habit, the more difficult it is for them to break it as they get older, as those neurological connections have been deeply ingrained into the user's subconscious. Alongside those same lines, 20% of school students that use porn on a weekly basis have a very low libido. As the teenage years are crucial for developing good habits and wiring your brain for success, this statistic completely plays against that concept.
Now let’s dive into the statistics of sexual experience. In western countries, 33% of men under the age of 30 are virgins. Alongside that, in the last 10 years, erectile dysfunction in men between the ages of 18-30 grew 1000%. It is important to note that most of these statistics are from within the last 5-10 years, exactly when internet porn became widespread and easily accessible. Lastly, men that watch porn regularly are more likely to rape, abuse, and support violence against women, due in part to their desensitization and objectification of women. We would have to be delusional to think that the integration of porn into society did not directly affect said statistics, and to claim that such numbers are normal is simply ignorance.
Alongside impotency, pornography ruins relationships, destroys your psyche, and turns you into an impulsive person with low conscientiousness. Furthermore, porn changes the structure and plasticity of the brain and constant porn usage decreases intellectual development. Unfortunately, we live in a world where the top 1% want things to be this way.
You see, big companies can leverage our cravings and make trillions of dollars off of keeping us addicted. If you don’t learn how to control yourself, you will be at the mercy of big companies that will play with you like a puppet. After all, the weakness of a man plays to the hand of the villain that is trying to destroy him. Therefore, it is in your best interest to start fighting back against the new age drug.
In conclusion, I want you all to understand that the goal in dealing with pornography addiction and states of horniness is to learn how to transfer that sexual energy into productive energy, and use it as a tool that will push you forward in life. Once you overcome the addiction, you will look back and wonder how you were ever able to stoop to such low levels.
I would like to leave you all with one final thought for analysis: Does porn make you, your friends, family, city or country, and civilization in total, better?
