What is pornography’s draw?
Question:
I don't know if this was already explained, but why are so many people addicted to pornography? More and more people are engaging in this kind of activities. And the viewers get younger and younger. I highly doubt that there are any benefits of pornography. But why? It's really a sin to do such things, right? In addition to that, I have recently seen a movie entitled, "Dirty Dancing". Well, by the title itself I think you know what are in the contents. While watching the movie with my friends I felt uncomfortable. Was it right for me to say that the movie is erotic? And that my friends don't seem to be affected but rather enjoying themselves. I don't understand. Although I do admit that I tried viewing pornography because of curiosity. Now I stopped and hopefully and thankfully, I never placed an eye on those things again.
Pornography is more common for men than women. How come? And women? I wonder who the founder of fornication and pornography is since it has become very rampant for this in past years and still growing. I really have a lot of questions about this topic, but I think I'll stop here for a while. Thank you very much.
Answer:
I don't know if the viewers of pornography are getting younger or that pornography is now so easily available that younger people are being caught with it. There is an article just a few days ago in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel regarding young teens being caught downloading images of child pornography ("Child porn sting snares children").
The draw of pornography is sensuality, in particular, sexual excitement. The human body's response to sexual stimulation is strong and it makes a powerful impact on the brain. One of the most dangerous drugs currently being abused is methamphetamines. It gives the user a sexual high that lasts for hours to days. It is addictive from the very first use and users desire it so much that they don't care about its highly damaging qualities.
For teenagers, this is particularly problematic because their sexual responses are just developing. They tend to experiment out of curiosity but quickly become hooked because of their bodies' reaction to the stimulation.
I have written an article about the underlying cause and harm of pornography. You can find it under the titled "A Look at Pornography."
Men tend to be trapped by pornography at a higher rate than women for two reasons: First, men tend to be visually oriented, thus images of improper sexual situations quickly take hold in their minds. Women tend to be verbally oriented. They too are trapped by pornography but of a different sort. They tend to go for the steamy romance novels that contain graphic descriptions of sexual encounters. It seems odd to me that we tend to get more upset about visual pornography, but bookstores openly sell verbal pornography. Second, because the male's sexual organs are external, they know when they are being sexually stimulated, and they quickly learn to pursue that stimulation; the cause and effect are more readily apparent.
In regards to watching erotic movies, I'm glad you find them uncomfortable. But be aware that the more you expose yourself to sin, the less impact it will make on your conscience. Paul warns about people "having their own conscience seared with a hot iron" (I Timothy 4:2). We can become calloused to sin. Yes, your friends enjoyed the movie, but that is because their minds are on worldly things. They enjoyed the sexual stimulation the movie gave them, but they felt no guilt because they don't see self-gratification as bad. "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:5-8).
