LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Research Paper: PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF PORNOGRAPHY AND THE
DESENSITIZATION OF MODERN SOCIETY
Submitted to Dr. Malcolm Hester
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
THEO 650
Public Theology
by
Harold C Hanson
July 4th, 2021
2
Abstract
This paper focuses on exploring the negative impact of pornography on social, psychological,
and spiritual values of relationships, family, and marriage in terms of the Biblical perspective.
The paper intends to capture the adverse impacts associated with pornography and the serious
long-term psychological issues that arise due to exposure to pornographic content for sexual
arousal. The paper begins with a review of the history of pornography, paying attention to the
ancient erotica, medieval times, and the 20th century. The overall trend about the increasing
popularity of porn around the world is discussed in terms of the opportunities given by the
Internet. Furthermore, the paper presents statistics about the interaction of people with
pornography, including how men and women perceive it. Some other details about porn
production and distribution are also discussed. To better understand how pornography is
viewed in society, the paper involves legal foundations that are established in Asia, Western
countries, and Africa. While child pornography is prohibited, laws vary depending on a
certain country’s cultural and religious specifics. Based on relevant sources, the paper argues
that pornography watching leads to social desensitization, which can be traced in families,
relationships between partners, adults, and adolescents. The first argument demonstrates that
people engaged in violent porn video watching are more likely to exercise aggressive
behaviors of domination. According to the second argument, the value of family ties
decreases since spouses develop unrealistic expectations regarding their partners. The
adolescents engaged in porn video observation are prone to have challenges with appropriate
body image and self-concept perceptions. On a larger scale, the negative spiritual outcomes
of pornography refer to destructing the principles of righteousness and gentleness, thus
creating a barrier between a person and God.
3
Outline
1. Introduction. In the modern world, pornography is not considered as something
extraordinary, and the industry grows rapidly. However, the issues related to its impact
on sexual behavior, relationships, and marriage appear.
2. Pornography history and modern perceptions. The statistics regarding the pornography
industry shows that it is a multi-billion area that develops rapidly. The number of
watchers tends to increase, and the time spent to watch also raises. Not only adults, but
also adolescents are engaged in this industry, while men are more likely to spend more
time for it.
3. Legal foundation in different regions: Asia, Western countries, and Africa. Many
countries lack laws that determine the production and distribution of pornography, while
the Internet pornography is legal in the majority of European countries and the US.
4. Adverse impacts of pornography on society: Society desensitization.
4.1 Aggressive sexual behaviors. Violence in pornography, as well as performances
that significantly stimulate the imagination, can lead to real-life aggression, such as
rape, harassment, spanking, and other forms of domination.
4.2 Reduced value of family: Unrealistic expectations and normality distortions. People
who watch porn videos observe thrills and incredible performances, while they are
not characteristic of the reality. As a result, spouses lose their senses to the
partners, expecting that they can also behave like in videos. It damages spouses’
self-esteem and creates dissatisfaction.
4.3 Pornography and adolescents. Internet-enabled technology provides great
opportunities to access pornographic websites. Considering higher sensitivity and
unformed identity of adolescents, their perception of body image, self-concept, and
special development may suffer.
4
4.4 Spiritual effects of pornography. When a person watches pornography, he or she
creates a wall between him or her and God. Pornography violates the principles of
righteousness, gentleness, and acceptance, which means that sinful behaviors of lie,
pretense, and aggression will be present.
5. Conclusion. Pornography causes serious long-term psychological issues, such as
Aggressive sexual behaviors, desensitization in relationships and families, and
disconnection with God, which appear as a result of the exposure to pornographic
content for sexual arousal.
5
Introduction
In the recent decades, the use of pornography became especially widespread, which is
caused by its affordability, accessibility, and a lack of accountability. Pornography can be
defined as any media that presents sexual content, with the intent of providing arousal and
sexual pleasure.1 Although pornography watching tends to be habitual for modern people, it
makes a destructive impact on social norms, beliefs, and values. The adverse consequence of
pornography is the desensitization of society, leading to distorted perceptions of relationships
and family life, sexually-aggressive behaviors, decreased spirituality, and the violation of
adolescents’ maturity process. This paper aims at exploring the mentioned impacts of
pornography based on academic literature and reliable statistics. The biblical perspective is
used in the paper as the framework to synthesize data and provide a critical analysis.
Pornography History and Modern Perceptions
Since the prehistoric times, people have depicted sexual figures, which are largely
known as rock arts. In the Paleolithic era, there are feminine figures with large breasts and
thick thighs, which are interpreted as the symbols of fertility. Ancient erotica was also
characteristic of ancient Romans and Greeks, who created frescoes and sculptures of sexual
scenes. Ceramic pottery of ancient Peru civilizations provided sexual pictures of men and
women in the process of sex. The meaning of these sexually explicit pictures is regarded as
ambiguous. On the one hand, they serve as the evidence of ancient civilizations’ development
and art objects; on the other hand, they are the beginning of pornography.
The idea of pornography for sexual arousal and pleasure appeared in the 1800s, when
erotic novels became popular. For example, the publication of “Memoirs of a Woman of
Pleasure”, one of the first English-language pornographic pieces, attracted the public attitude
due to covering group sex, voyeurism, and bisexuality. The innovations in the field of
1. Graham Clingbine, What You Need to Know About Human Sex (London: CPI
Group, 2016), 83.
6
technology, such as photography and movie, revolutionized pornography opportunities.
Beginning with the scenes of strip tease, a variety of photos and videos also included hard
core sexual intercourses.
The inventions of a digital camera and the Internet marked another milestone in the
history of pornography. It became more accessible for people, while it also allowed non-
professional videos to flow in an online environment. With an easy access, people received
the opportunity to view porn videos privately, which turned their preferences towards fetish
films that showed various forms of specific sexual scenes. In 1994, the study by Carnegie
Mellon revealed that 48 percent of users download videos containing non-traditional sex,
such as pedophilia, brutality, and incest.2 In turn, traditional vaginal sex and missionary poses
were likely to be out of the users’ interests.
Today, pornography is a multi-billion industry, the actual size of which remains a
mystery. While there are some official statistics, no one counts the number of amateur
photographs videos that are uploaded on Flickr or videos on XTube. The recent data shows
that 1 out of 5 smartphones searched are made to find pornographic content, and more than
$3,000 is spent on pornography on the Internet every second.3 One of the most prominent
websites, PornHub, reports that they have approximately 115 million visits per day, and they
achieved 42 billion visits in 2019.4 Men, women, and teenagers are involved in porn
watching, believing that it translates acceptable or neutral sex scenes that can be practiced in
everyday life. Approximately 50 percent of male students and 30 percent of female students
had the first porn watching before their adolescence. These numbers confirm that teenagers
2. Stephanie Pappas, “The History of Pornography No More Prudish Than the
Present.” Live Science, 2010. https://www.livescience.com/8748-history-pornography-
prudish-present.html.
3. “What does the Bible Say about Pornography?” GBN, n.d. https://gbntv.org/the-
truth-about-pornography/
4. “What does the Bible Say about Pornography?” GBN, n.d.
7
have become widely impacted by pornography. It is expected that virtual reality technology
would make it a $1 billion industry by 2025.5 Considering such a forecast, it is critical to
properly explore the impacts of pornography on society and take corresponding measures to
preserve social values.
Legal Foundations of Pornography in Different World Regions
Depending on a certain country’s culture and social norms, the legal foundations
related to the pornography industry vary. In Europe, pornography is generally legal with
some exceptions in such countries as Iceland, Lithuania, and Bulgaria. In the Western world,
the majority of countries have no data regarding the possession, production, and sale of
pornographic films. As for the African states, Kenya, Ghana, and Sudan have clear regulation
about the prohibition of such videos, while Botswana, Cameroon, Angola, and others
consider the Internet pornography legal.6 In their turn, many Asian countries possess the
articles that directly declare pornography to be illegal, which is probably related to their
Muslim culture that impacts politics. Child pornography is a separate issue that is forbidden
and enforced worldwide.
In most states, pornography is traditionally viewed as a crime against public morals.
Some countries identify it as an encroachment on the institution of the family and the
interests of minors. For example, the Hungarian Criminal Code includes this act in the
chapter about crimes against marriage, family, and youth. Accordingly, in the Criminal Code
of Argentina, pornography is considered in a number of sexual crimes, while Spain places it
in the chapter about crimes against sexual freedom. The legislators are also inclined to see
pornography as an infringement on public order and crimes against public order and
5. “Pornography Statistics.” Covenant Eyes, 2019,
https://www.covenanteyes.com/pornstats/.
6. Graham Clingbine, What You Need to Know About Human Sex (London: CPI
Group, 2016), 75.
8
government. In the Criminal Code of Vietnam, it is classified as crimes against public order,
and in the People's Republic of China views it as crimes against public order and
government. It becomes evident that there is a lack of proper legal foundations to control
pornography production, dissemination, and watching, which promotes further social
desensitization.
Adverse Impacts of Pornography on Society: Desensitization
The negative impact on the brain is not usually caused by pornography itself, but by
its content and the frequency of watching. For example, if one watches porn videos often, his
or her psyche is likely to get used to relax only in such conditions, while this alignment also
affects erection and ejaculation. Viewing pornography delivers pleasant sensations and an
explosion of emotions, which is reinforced by the hormones of endorphin and serotonin.7
Pornography addiction can be identified as well if a person is accustomed to react to stress in
a certain way, namely, by watching porn. However, the Bible calls: “I urge you, as foreigners
and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul” (Peter 2:11).
The sinful desires to relax through porn videos increase the threat of developing aggressive
sexual behaviors, damaging relationships, and violating the perceptions of adolescents.
Aggressive Sexual Behaviors
While the impact of pornography on aggressive sexual behaviors is not yet properly
studied, it increases a person's predisposition to violence. This is not a reason for
generalization, but it is not also a reason to turn a blind eye to possible negative effects that
can be less offensive, yet much more common. Pornography statistics shows that 49 percent
of porn films contain verbal aggression, while 88 percent of porn scenes involve some form
of physical aggression.8 It should be emphasized that the intensity of watching porn videos is
7. Manju George, et al., "Psychosocial Aspects of Pornography,"NJournal of
Psychosexual HealthN1, no. 1 (2019): 46.
8. Megan Lim, SC, Elise R. Carrotte, and Margaret E. Hellard, "The Impact of
Pornography on Gender-Based Violence, Sexual Health and Well-Being: What Do We
9
associated with the raising sexual aggression, such as rape myth acceptance. The latter refers
to the fact that a significant number of persons who assault or rape females and children are
likely to use hard core pornography.9 Since a lot of erotic films and videos contain
nonconsequential sex, it complicated the situation.
The psyche of males is more likely to be prone to aggression, which is stimulated by
the exposure to hard core pornography. The data from studies assumes that the scenes of sex
that depict rape or torture activate men’s impulses related to sexual violence.10 In turn, one
should note that traditional forms of pornography affect males’ self-acknowledged
willingness to comply with the viewed scenes in their daily life. Accordingly, they develop
ignorance towards the victims of rape and sexual abuse of children. Some abusive incidents
are caused by the increased desire of men to repeat what they had seen in the videos, others
are associated with impulsivity and the need for psychological discharge. As a result, the rate
of sex offenses grows, while the victims often remain silent to report about the cases due to
the fear of social disapproval.
Along with serious sexual crimes, such as rape, some subtle sexual behaviors are
motivated by pornography videos. For instance, domination and spanking as the expressions
of sexual aggression appear as a result of taking the ideas of sex and sexuality from
pornography. The key consequence of this is that porn shapes the image of aggressive sex,
and, in most of these scenes, men are aggressive towards women.11 In their turn, women react
Know?,"NJournal of Epidemiology Community HealthN70, no. 1 (2016): 4.
9. Kendra J. Muller, "Pornography’s Effect on the Brain: A Review of Modifications
in the Prefrontal Cortex,"NIntuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of PsychologyN13, no. 2
(2018): 5.
10. Kendra J. Muller, "Pornography’s Effect on the Brain”, (2018): 5.
11. Elise R. Carrotte, Angela C. Davis, and Megan S. C Lim, "Sexual Behaviors and
Violence in Pornography: Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis of Video Content
Analyses,"NJournal of Medical Internet ResearchN22, no. 5 (2020): e16702.
10
to the manifestations of aggression either with pleasure or neutrally. It is quite frustrating and
depressing data as it states that since people often do not know what normal or ordinary sex
is. They watch porn and start considering it to be normal. This is how people begin to
develop distorted ideas about themselves, as well as about what they and their partners like.
As a result of such distortions, the idea that women enjoy aggressive sexual behaviors
can be shared not only by men, but also by women themselves. In other words, thinking
about how to behave, and what female sexuality is, a woman may decide that sex implies joy
and pleasure from aggressive behavior towards her. It leads to the concept of rape-supportive
attitudes, the views that accept and encourage violence. Accordingly, this situation in
pornography creates the idea that a woman can be raped because “no” does not mean “no”
and imply “yes”. In addition, the porn plots that present women in short skirts or dresses
promote the belief such as clothes are provocative, and that these women want to be raped. At
a larger scale, this aggravates the difficult position of women in today's world.
It is still debatable whether pornography consumption directly correlates with
sexually aggressive behaviors, yet the studies suggest that porn viewing is at least associated
with sexual aggression in different countries, and this is true for both women and men. This is
confirmed in the context of manifestations of verbal sexual aggression than physical. It turns
out that those who watched more porn were more prone to verbal aggression in sexual
situations. This is not to suggest that porn consumption makes people aggressive, but makes
them more prone to act impulsively.
Reduced Value of Family and Destructive Impact on Relationships
Habituation and sexual dissatisfaction are the two key outcomes of prolonged
pornography usage. It leads the desensitization of both men and women, who constantly need
new and bizarre emotions and experiences from having sex with their partners. They develop
higher tolerance to sexual scenes they watch in the Internet, which causes people to seek new
11
videos with more explicit materials. Among other examples, it is possible to mention group
sex, anal intercourses, or sadomasochistic scenes, which can satisfy porn users’ increased
requirements. Because of habituation, partners consider their sexual relationships with
spouses boring and extremely routine, and it leads to misunderstanding.12 A person engaged
in frequent pornography use is likely to believe that his or her partner becomes less attractive.
It motivates some men and women to seek sexual pleasure outside their families.
The expectations from sex after watching pornography compose another topic that is
worth discussing since it impacts human relationships. The studies reveal that women are
more worried about how they look during sex, concerning about their breast, butt, belly, and
appearance in general. However, men have greater anxiety about the duration of intercourse
and how much they coped with their role. The problem is that professional porn is shot like a
movie as there is editing and special tools, and it is unrealistic. People do not make sex the
way they look in pornography, but people still compare themselves with those they look at,
because they have no other experience. They do not discuss it with friends, they do not know
that the actors sometimes fail, look funny, or have strange situations. Instead, by looking at
ideal people and sex scenes, people think that they will never be as good, which creates a
permanent neurosis.
Watching porn contributes to heightened expectations of intercourse in everyday life,
as all awkward and protracted moments are cut out during editing. Few viewers think that a
15-minute video can be filmed for eight or more hours. In particular, this is why actors prefer
not to use contraceptives. In this connection, a bad example is often contagious. According to
the study, porn lovers are not inclined to use condoms for fleeting relationships. If in the
industry, the actors are regularly checked for the presence of sexually transmitted diseases,
12. Joshua B., Grubbs, et al., "Internet Pornography Use and Sexual Motivation: A
Systematic Review and Integration,"NAnnals of the International Communication
AssociationN43, no. 2 (2019): 128.
12
not everyone is so scrupulous about their health then in everyday life.
The inability to satisfy sexual needs with relationships stimulates people to
excessively prioritize sexual engagements, disregarding the importance of acceptance,
communication, and mutual support. Watching porn videos can double the risk of divorce,
while for religious people, the issue of porn consumption is also linked to religious
parenting.13 It should be stressed that porn consumption is often accompanied by intense
feelings of shame, because many people consider it an evil and a source of social ills. The
myths that masturbation causes blindness and other misfortunes are still present in society.
The need to view porn in a hidden manner creates secrets and prevents spouses from being
open with each other.
A person who watches pornography, especially its hard core versions, reduces his or
her commitment to family values, such as love, honor, and respect. They pay less attention to
children and their needs, being in frustration and seeking to satisfy their growing sexual
desires. The behaviors of people addicted to porn often look like an obsession, and it is
possible to speak about a negative mental impact. If a person regularly watches certain genres
of pornography, this will create a negative stereotype of sexual relations in general in the
future. Falling self-esteem and growing dissatisfaction with real sex are two more issues,
which begin to seem like “bad porn” is noted by some study participants. Among other signs
and stages of immersion in porn addiction, one can distinguish between tolerance and the loss
of sensitivity as a person needs more and more porn in order to get aroused.
From the biblical perspective, there is the need to copy what was seen on the screen,
including domination turning into violence. The Bible says: “the eye is the lamp of the body;
if your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light” (Matthew 6: 22-23). However,
13. Benjamin. S. Wilburn, “Examining the Effects of Pornography on the Individual
and the Family,” Masters Theses, Eastern Illinois University, 2016,
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3466&context=theses.
13
everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his
heart. It means that when watching such videos, a person defiles himself and, more to the
point, he or she becomes an accomplice. God created intimacy only for marriage, and it is
pure only in relationships. Outside their borders, the Bible calls it fornication, which entails
spiritual consequences, including the destruction of families, involvement in crime, and
psychological disorders.
Despite the destructive impact of pornography on one’s personal life, it is still
possible to improve a person’s life. It is stated that “if we confess our sins, He [God] is
faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John
1:9). For instance, instead of thoughtlessly following pleasure-oriented behaviors only,
people can look for other motivations that would help them to relax without the damage to
relationships. The rejection or limitation of hedonic desires can be the first step towards the
life without pornography. It is possible to expected, as a result, that sexual intercourses
between partners would become more pleasurable since both of them would pay attention to
what the other person feels and wants.
Pornography and Adolescents
Today, more and more adolescents are engaged in watching pornography, mainly, in
the Internet. The Pornhub website opened access to paid content during the COVID-19
quarantine, which significantly increased the number if views. It turned out that 22 percent of
those surveyed started watching adult content between the ages of 14 and 18.14 Even in the
countries where sex education classes exist, young people often turn to porn for educational
purposes. The need to lie to others occurs, when an adolescent promises to quit watching
porn, but does not do it or breaks down over and over again. Therefore, teenagers experience
general psychological stress since watching porn videos does not give relaxation, but, on the
14. Eric W. Owens, et al., "The Impact of Internet Pornography on Adolescents: A
Review of the Research,"NSexual Addiction & CompulsivityN19, no. 1-2 (2012): 112.
14
contrary, makes them even more nervous, developing anxiety attacks and self-isolation.
There was always interest from adolescents to the topic of sex, which is common and
normal. In the past, there was limited information, and the manifestation of sexuality by
adolescents was realized in interpersonal contacts at an emotional level. In other words, a
person managed to emotionally mature before the onset of sexual activity and entered it more
or less consciously. Today, when there is a lot of information on this topic, exploiting the
sexual context, and almost all of it is in the public domain, the perception of the essence of
these relations is distorted among minors. Given the acceleration process, this topic becomes
even more attractive and significant since it is an integral part of adulthood. Therefore,
emotional immaturity, a lack of experience in practical interpersonal interaction, and
adolescent opposition to social rules provoke eccentric behaviors of adolescents.
The essence of the formation of the adolescent psyche lies in the fact that it begins to
realize the connection between bodily and emotional needs, understanding the essence of
concepts such as falling in love, responsibility, and trust.15 In pornography, it all comes down
to the mechanics of the process. For a teenager and a child, this can become a factor
distorting the formation of his personality. Moreover, when a teenage person masturbates
while watching porn, he or she can become addicted. In the future, diligent viewing of adult
videos can block the teenager's desire to love and interact with someone to establish
relationships.
Due to the age characteristics of the psyche, adolescents have difficulties in
distinguishing between video and reality. As a result, they try to transfer what they see on the
screen into real life, expecting the same reactions from themselves and their partner as in
porno plots. As a rule, this does not happen, therefore, due to the mismatch of expectations
and reality, it seems to a teenager that life loses to porn in terms of the quality of experience.
15. Stephanie Enson, "Evaluating the Impact of Pornography on the Lives of Children
and Young People,"NBritish Journal of School NursingN12, no. 7 (2017): 329.
15
This is not surprising, because the porn plots are concentrated and are like fast food with a lot
of flavor enhancers. Not in favor of real intimacy is also said by the fact that it takes much
more effort to achieve it than to watch porn.
Because of a lack of critical thinking, a teenager viewing all pornography
indiscriminately can internalize deviant, abnormal forms of sexual behavior as the norm.
With natural development, a teenager develops first a platonic, then an erotic, and only then a
sexual libido. But when children and adolescents gain access to porn, development is grossly
distorted, as powerful sexual stimulation occurs in the unformed platonic and erotic stages. In
many cases, adolescents are unable to analyze and understand what exactly is happening. For
example, violence is more likely to occur from ignorance of personal and others' rights and
capabilities. If a teenager has more knowledge about how relationships work, considering sex
as an interpersonal relationship first of all, problems are easier to avoid. Therefore, it is
important to create conditions for open discussion of sexuality issues.
In adolescence, especially when there is no practical experience, the information
received of this nature is perceived as a way of relations and a guide to action. At the same
time, the emotional context is uprooted from sexual relations and the natural fear of inability
disappears. Therefore, the age limit for entering into sexual activity has significantly
decreased, and the relationships turned into an attribute of "coolness" and personal
fulfillment. For example, avoiding condom using is one of the adverse impacts of
pornography since the majority of actors do without any protection measures. It leads to the
spread of sexually transmitted diseases among teenagers, who do not think about the fact that
all porn stars have constant health checks.
Spiritual Effects of Pornography
Currently, the literature on the use of pornography by religious individuals is limited.
The initial suggestions of researchers stated that Christian males and females can be less
16
likely to view porn videos due to having stronger moral values. Nevertheless, Wilburn notes
that Christian males are more inclined to watch pornography compared to women.16 The
study that examined the impact of such recreational time found that Christian males who
practiced porn use reported lower levels of happiness in comparison to those who did not.
Despite watching it, the participants also mentioned that their relationships with God and
family were not affected significantly. In general, porn is perceived by religious persons as a
shameful topic that is better to avoid in conversations. In this regard, it becomes even more
complicated to study the impact of pornography since people can hide their genuine thoughts
and behaviors.
Speaking about the theme of pornography watching, it is essential to understand what
the Bible proposes about it. Sex is an incredibly vivid and pleasurable experience, but it also
causes irreparable damage if someone uses it for other purposes than God intended. The
damage can manifest itself immediately, for example, family breakup due to cheating or
unwanted pregnancy. At the same time, physical, spiritual, and emotional damage is
inevitable, but God loves people as He created marriage to keep people safe. The Bible says
that “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of
impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people” (Ephesians 5:3).
This verse can be attributed to pornography as it describes sexual lust and moral fall.
Pornography definitely causes the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes. It is not
defined as one of the issues people should think about: “Finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things
(Philippians 4: 8). Pornography leads to addiction, destruction, and ever-increasing
16. Benjamin S Wilburn, “Examining the Effects of Pornography on the Individual and
the Family,” Masters Theses, Eastern Illinois University, 2016.
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3466&context=theses
17
sinfulness. The lust for other people that has settled in the minds, which is the essence of
pornography, is offensive to the Lord (Matthew 5:28). When an addiction to pornography
begins to dictate the rules of human existence, it indicates that a person is distracted from
faith and that his or her behaviors are not righteous.
To overcome pornography addiction, the most important issue is to stay close to God.
After preaching to the Nineveh people about their sins, including adultery, the Prophet Jonah
addressed their families as well, appealing to their pure hearts. He advised them to trust in
God with a steadfastness of mind and pray to Him with great faith, and He will comfort them
in their suffering.17 Constant closeness to the Lord will bring a sense of the peace that only a
Savior can provide, and will allow recognizing the inspiration and guidance that will help to
withstand temptation. The Lord He does not condemn, forgives, and waits for everyone to be
set free. The practical steps to overcome porn addiction can be the repentance before God and
a request to free one or sharing with a loved one about this. It is not useful to judge oneself,
but it is better to spend less time on the websites with pornography and limiting
communication with people who are drawn into this sin.
Conclusion
To conclude, this paper provides the discussion of the adverse impact of pornography
use on society. While the erotic depictions were characteristic to people from ancient times,
the meaning of pornography changed significantly with its widespread watching, which was
caused by technology advancements. It is found that pornography increases the likelihood of
engaging in sexual aggression, both verbal and non-verbal, since it is translated in porn
videos. Scientists also found a stronger link between aggression and hardcore porn.
Men become more likely to view their partners as less attractive and seek sexual pleasure
outside their families. In turn, many women adopt sexual violence behaviors, believing that it
17. “What does the Bible Say about Pornography?” GBN, n.d. https://gbntv.org/the-
truth-about-pornography/.
18
is normal to practice them. People incorporate the distorted perceptions about relationships in
their daily lives, which reduces family values and leads to misunderstanding. Pornography
also significantly affects adolescents’ non-formed critical thinking and promotes the increase
in the rate of sexually transmitted diseases. The commitment to God is considered to be one
of the ways to overcome porn addiction.
19
Bibliography
Carrotte, Elise R., Angela C. Davis, and Megan SC Lim. "Sexual Behaviors and Violence in
Pornography: Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis of Video Content
Analyses."NJournal of Medical Internet ResearchN22, no. 5 (2020): e16702.
Clingbine, Graham. What You Need to Know About Human Sex. London: CPI Group, 2016.
Enson, Stephanie. "Evaluating the Impact of Pornography on the Lives of Children and
Young People."NBritish Journal of School NursingN12, no. 7 (2017): 326-330.
George, Manju, et al. "Psychosocial Aspects of Pornography."NJournal of Psychosexual
HealthN1, no. 1 (2019): 44-47.
Grubbs, Joshua B., et al. "Internet Pornography Use and Sexual Motivation: A Systematic
Review and Integration."NAnnals of the International Communication AssociationN43,
no. 2 (2019): 117-155.
Lim, Megan S. C, Elise R. Carrotte, and Margaret E. Hellard. "The Impact of Pornography on
Gender-Based Violence, Sexual Health and Well-Being: What Do We
Know?."NJournal of Epidemiology Community HealthN70, no. 1 (2016): 3-5.
Muller, Kendra J. "Pornography’s Effect on the Brain: A Review of Modifications in the
Prefrontal Cortex."NIntuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of PsychologyN13, no.
2 (2018): 2-10.
Owens, Eric W., et al. "The Impact of Internet Pornography on Adolescents: A Review of the
Research."NSexual Addiction & CompulsivityN19, no. 1-2 (2012): 99-122.
Pappas, Stephanie. “The History of Pornography No More Prudish Than the Present.” Live
Science, 2010. https://www.livescience.com/8748-history-pornography-prudish-
present.html
“Pornography Statistics.” Covenant Eyes, 2019. https://www.covenanteyes.com/pornstats/
“What does the Bible Say about Pornography?” GBN, n.d. https://gbntv.org/the-truth-about-
20
pornography/
Wilburn, Benjamin. S. “Examining the Effects of Pornography on the Individual and the
Family.” Masters Theses, Eastern Illinois University, 2016.
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3466&context=theses
