Porn Culture
A few years back, I initiated a conversation on the topic of ‘pornography’ with my father. Immediately, he asked me “What is pornography?”. Then I have to explain about the internet, websites, mobile applications and so on. He was really surprised how easy the X-rated content access became available to the world. In his adolescent years, the only way to access nude content was through adult magazines, X-rated theatres and video cassettes. To be sure, many people did – at first with hearts pounding and sweaty palms and then, of course, it became easier and easier. But the predictable shame of it all limited the pool of those who would be drawn in.
For pornography, the dynamic has changed in our culture. Though the temptation to pornography is the same in every age, the rise of digital technology has weaponized pornography.[i] Russel Moore says,
It promises to guarantee anonymity. More than that, digital pornography now exists in such a way that a person can easily feel as though he or she is “accidentally” arriving there. The anonymity and ease of this technology have contributed to its ubiquity, a ubiquity shored up by a popular culture in which characters in film and television often joke about porn as a routine matter of life.[ii]
“More than any other railway station in the country, where free Wi-Fi service was launched, the Patna railway station is on the top in the country for using internet search, particularly search for porn sites,” an unnamed official of RailTel.[iii] I was not surprised by it. The leading porn site lists Indians are its third largest visitors.[iv]
Porn Addiction
Porn addiction is “considered a reliance on pornography that results in extreme cravings and urges to watch pornography.”[v] People with porn addiction may also see a sharp or gradual increase in the amount of porn they consume – they may also end up wanting to view increasingly graphic material.[vi] This can end up altering the types of sexual interest that an individual has.[vii] Just as drugs reprogram the brain to crave and rely on drugs, it appears porn can often ensure that people rely on the graphic material to feel sexual satisfaction.[viii]
What porn does to our brains and bodies
“Because the human brain is the biological anchor of our psychological experience, it is helpful to understand how it operates. Knowing how it is wired together and where it is sensitive can help us understand why pornography affects people the way it does.” says William M. Struthers, associate professor of psychology at Wheaton College.[ix]
- It becomes addictive. Overstimulation of the brain system that releases the pleasure neurotransmitter dopamine (which internet porn spurs in massive amounts) results in the build-up of the molecular switch protein called deltaFosB, an ingredient common in most addictions.[x]
- It impairs memory and concentration.
- It numbs you to other pleasures of life and real sex in marriage (called desensitization). You develop a tolerance and need for greater and greater stimulation because real sex has become dull.[xi]
- Sensitization. Because your reward system has been hammered, you have an amped up attraction to porn that can tempt you to view it through even simple cues like seeing your computer monitor. Your brain goes into autopilot and your reward circuit says, “Do it now!”[xii]
- It diminishes impulse control and willpower. The fight between clear thinking and temptation is heightened and you have less willpower to say, “No!”[xiii]
- It increases sensitivity to stress. Even minor stresses can lead to cravings and relapse because they activate powerful sensitized pathways.[xiv]
- It literally shrinks your brain. Studies actually show that even moderate amounts of porn can shrink grey matter in areas associated with cognitive function related to our ability to focus. Porn users report pervasive brain fog.[xv]
- It causes depression and low energy because it interferes with normal dopamine production and signaling.[xvi]
- You become more susceptible to risky behavior. Since porn addicts need a bigger and bigger hit they gravitate to more degrading kinds of porn and risky behavior to get that hit with diminished fears of experiencing negative consequences (i.e., getting caught).[xvii]
- Erectile dysfunction. Porn users become less sensitive to real sex with their spouses and need more and more stimulation to get aroused. Ex-porn addicts report that porn created significant sexual problems, specifically ED.[xviii]
How to overcome
Seeking help and admitting that you are battling a porn addiction can feel embarrassing or humiliating, but to overcome the addiction, you must choose to take that first step toward recovery anyway.[xix] When someone has an incredible struggle with pornography, they should open up their life to their spouse, friend or pastor to get help. Also, they can get help from certified professionals. The people that aren’t talking, those are the people who are destroying their ministry, future ministry, marriage and family, future marriage and family.[xx] “I’ll do this little thing over here and it’s nasty and it’s ugly, but I get finished with it now, cover it up and I’ll go back to the rest of my life.”[xxi] The problem is that sin doesn’t stay covered up. The ones that are stored up over a long amount of time are sipping on a poison that is eventually going to kill their ministry efforts and their efforts at marriage and family, they’re literally destroying their lives and their effectiveness for Christ and they don’t even understand it.[xxii]
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Paul condemns “if you are sexually immoral you will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Thankfully, Paul moves toward confidence in Redeemer, Jesus. He loves to cleanse sinners and He loves to give addicts power to change.[xxiii] Our only hope is in a risen Savior who has the power to bring us out of the pit of pornography.[xxiv] More importantly, South-Asian pulpits need to offer more help than condemnation.
Conclusion
As a person of faith, I believe that pornography is a medium that degrades both men and women while offering the lie of on-demand sexual fulfilment, primarily to men. Pornography dishonours the image of God in an individual by treating him or her as a sexual object to be consumed directly or indirectly. Though various studies reveal that porn addiction affects human brains and bodies, admitting and seeking help will lead to recovery. However, Jesus’ forgiving and transforming power of grace can save us.
Book recommended
[i] Russell D. Moore and Andrew T. Walker, The Gospel & Pornography (Nashville, Tennessee: B&H Books, 2017), 40.
[ii] Moore and Walker, 41.
[iii] “Patna Tops Wi-Fi Use At Railway Stations. Mostly For Porn, Says Official,” NDTV.com, n.d., https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/wi-fi-used-most-at-patna-railway-station-mostly-to-watch-pornography-1475214.
[iv] “Porn Ban: Has Blocking 827 Websites Decreased Porn Consumption in India? – IBTimes India,” accessed September 18, 2019, https://www.ibtimes.co.in/porn-ban-has-blocking-827-websites-decreased-porn-consumption-india-790311.
[v] “Porn Addiction Recovery Help: How to Stop & Break Free Now,” accessed September 18, 2019, https://pornaddiction.com/.
[vi] Porn On The Brain, accessed September 19, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iWY_Q3pqlI.
[vii] Porn On The Brain.
[viii] Porn On The Brain.
[ix] “The Effects of Porn on the Male Brain,” Christian Research Institute, accessed September 20, 2019, https://www.equip.org/article/the-effects-of-porn-on-the-male-brain-3/.
[x] “The Effects of Porn on the Male Brain”; “10 Ways Pornography Damages Your Brain – Charles Stone,” accessed September 21, 2019, https://charlesstone.com/porn-damages-brain/.
[xi] “The Effects of Porn on the Male Brain”; “10 Ways Pornography Damages Your Brain – Charles Stone.”
[xii] “The Effects of Porn on the Male Brain”; “10 Ways Pornography Damages Your Brain – Charles Stone.”
[xiii] “The Effects of Porn on the Male Brain”; “10 Ways Pornography Damages Your Brain – Charles Stone.”
[xiv] “The Effects of Porn on the Male Brain.” “10 Ways Pornography Damages Your Brain – Charles Stone.”
[xv] “The Effects of Porn on the Male Brain.” “10 Ways Pornography Damages Your Brain – Charles Stone.”
[xvi] “The Effects of Porn on the Male Brain.” “10 Ways Pornography Damages Your Brain – Charles Stone.”
[xvii] “The Effects of Porn on the Male Brain.” “10 Ways Pornography Damages Your Brain – Charles Stone.”
[xviii] “The Effects of Porn on the Male Brain.” “10 Ways Pornography Damages Your Brain – Charles Stone.”
[xix] Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013), 166.
[xx] Author Interview: “Finally Free” Part 1, accessed September 15, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CLYOKwvhhI.
[xxi] Author Interview.
[xxii] Author Interview.
[xxiii] Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace, 19.
[xxiv] Lambert, 19.