You are within the grasp of the porn industry
by Amanda Chapman

The dangers of pornography attack even those who aren’t seeking it. 1,000 new online porn sites are added daily.¹ One out of five American adults may have looked for sex online. And 17.8% of “Born-Again” Christians have visited at least one sexually-oriented website.² As noted in the statistics above, Christians and non-Christians alike are exposed to and tempted by pornography. Clearly, everyone is vulnerable to the sin and temptation, given the aggressive marketing and the addictive nature it breeds.

Lust feeds a deeply-rooted and dangerous addiction. Dr. Victor Cline, a clinical psychologist for sexual addictions, describes five stages of pornography addiction and manifestation.

• Step 1—initial addiction and return to it
• Step 2—desire for more explicit and exciting material, often deviant and shocking
• Step 3—desensitization of the shocking material that previously was shocking and undesirable
• Step 4—manifestation of the fantasies, the increased tendency to act out on the sexual activities in the pornography³

Gene McConnell was an assistant pastor and a youth pastor who was addicted to pornography. Fearing rejection, he kept his addiction confidential. This addiction grew and, in accord with the inevitable timeline by Dr. Cline above, he acted out the desires that could no longer be satisfied by the pornography—by attempting rape. He writes, “I needed a real person. I would never have believed that I would have tried rape, but over a period of time the viewing of pornography eroded away all the good things in my life.” ⁴

A study of 222 undergraduate males shows that “use of sexually violent pornography and acceptance of interpersonal violence against women were uniquely associated with likelihood of using sexual force and likelihood of raping.”⁵ Both violent and non-violent pornography viewing increases the viewer’s tendency to use sexual force.⁶ And in neighborhoods with adult bookstores, video stores carrying hard-core porn and sexually-oriented businesses, the prostitution, rape and child molestation rates increase.⁷ This sin is not confined to the Internet or the television: it becomes the viewer’s thoughts, and leads to permanent damage to the victim and the attacker.

Retired NYPD detective Raymond Pierce said “In my experience…when a child is introduced to pornography as the norm, they get a twisted view of sexuality as they grow up. And that definitely is what happened to [Ted] Bundy.” Serial rapist and killer Bundy was introduced to pornography by his grandfather at a young age.⁸

Studies show that the average age of first exposure to Internet pornography is 11. For most people, this is before puberty. The pornographic images are very instrumental in forming ideas, and feeding and developing their addictions. This gives reason for the largest consumer group of Internet porn being ages 12-17.⁹ The Internet has only been utilized by the general public for about ten years.¹⁰ If this is the state of the industry now, what will it come to in five or ten more years? In 1997 the Telecommunications Reform Act was unanimously denied by the Supreme Court as a violation of the first amendment, because it attempted to ban sending "indecent material by the Internet into others’ computers"¹¹—which is something that violates privacy. Somehow we have confused our quest for free speech with tolerance of obscenity. Porn resources are becoming more readily available and virtually impossible to avoid. Children are addicted young, and they develop this addiction through their adolescence. By the time they are adults, the addiction has developed.

Despite the high number of children who are addicted young, Greg Gutfield, writer for Men’s Health, notes that many addicts of online porn—who are many times professional and married men—have never had the temptation before. They weren’t addicted as children. The recent rapid growth of online pornography advertises sexual fulfillment, anonymity and no limitations, attracting many who were previously inhibited by going to an adult entertainment store or adult video section. As their addictions to the initial online pornography escalate, they eventually need more and more stimulation.¹² This stimulation is readily available online.

The danger of online porn addiction is evident. ZOL.com is committed to serving our community to help overcome these addictions, as well as help protect you and your family members from forming these addictions. With ZOL.com Internet, you are filtered from inappropriate sites that include pornography and other dangerous content. Click here for more information on our filtering technologies. To sign up for ZOL Internet service or for more information about ZOL, please call our toll-free Customer Service number at 1-866-683-6837 or email info@zol.com.

¹ How to Fight the Pornography Addiction. Family Safe Media.
www.familysafemedia.com

² Research by Zogby International. Results at
http://www.pureintimacy.org

³ McConnell, Gene. Pornography and Addiction. Victims of Pornography.
www.victimsofpornography.org

⁴ McConnell, Gene. Pornography and Addiction. Victims of Pornography.
www.victimsofpornography.org

⁵ Helpful Materials: Pornography and Attitudes Towards Women.
www.victimsofpornography.org

⁶ The Sexual Criminal’s Relationship to Porn. Morality in Media. 2000.
www.moralityinmedia.org

⁷ Get the FAQs Straight. Maryland Coalition Against Pornography.
http://www.mcap1.com/faq.html

⁸ The Sexual Criminal’s Relationship to Porn. Morality in Media. 2000.
www.moralityinmedia.org

⁹ How to Fight the Pornography Addiction. Family Safe Media.
www.familysafemedia.com

¹⁰ Leiner, Barry, et al. A Brief History of the Internet, version 3.31. Copyright © 2002 Internet Society.
http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml#Introduction

¹¹ The Legal History of Internet Censorship and Pornography in the United States. Pornography and the Internet in the United States. © Charles Hogg, 1999.
http://www.slais.ubc.ca/courses/libr500/fall1999/www_presentations/c_hogg/unitedstates.htm

¹² Hosley, Ryan and Steve Watters, M.A.. Dangers and Disappointments Copyright 1999 Focus on the Family.
http://www.pureintimacy.org

Article by Amanda Chapman, Copyright ©2004 Zionline, Inc.