The Consequences of Pornography on the Mind and Hormones

The definition of pornography is printed or visual material containing the explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity, intended to stimulate erotic, rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings. Child pornography is illegal, and even just possession of it can lead to 20 years in prison and a fine of over $25,000. Child pornography is considered a felony, and a federal crime. The definition of child pornography is pornography that exploits children (ages 18 and under) for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a child, or it may be simulated child pornography. For example: to be classified as simulated, it could be a computer game involving nude imagery of teens or something similar to that.

An addiction to pornography is harmful not only to the person with the addiction, but to everyone around them. The definition of a pornographic addiction is the obsessive need to view sexually enticing images to the detriment of actual human interaction. This addiction lead to several consequences. If someone is found in possession of child pornography, they will then get tried in the court of law, be found guilty, and be forced to pay an incredible fine and serve at least a decade in prison. Charges may vary due to the amount recovered, and how the pornography was created or distributed.

Most perpetrators of things such as child pornography are commonly found to be males, ranging from teens to the elderly. They lure in unsuspecting victims by reaching out through games like Fortnite, and popular social media applications such as Snapchat, Instagram, or Facebook. Methods of hiding the evidence are becoming as sophisticated as usage of the dark web to encrypting search histories. The perpetrator usually pretends to be the same age as their target, have the same likes and interests, and generally develop a sense of trust with the target. Depending on the circumstances, this can lead to kidnapping, rape, and murder.

Child pornography can lead to even more severe actions, such as child molestation. Child molestation doesn’t usually just happen once to a child but is actually repeated countless times within the course of a single year. In some cases, the child is groomed by an adult for quite some time before the adult tries to do anything. Grooming Is a tactic that many perpetrators use to gain the loyalty of both the child and their parents or guardians. Because after a certain amount of grooming occurs, the child actually becomes less likely to report the crime.

When viewing pornographic material, your brain releases “feel good” chemicals. Those include Endorphin, Oxytocin, Dopamine, and Serotonin. Not only are these chemicals released by the brain when receiving porn, but also during masturbation. Endorphins are a type of hormone found in both humans and animals. Endorphins are primarily produced by the central nervous system and the pituitary gland. Oxytocin is a different hormone that plays a major role in human reproduction, child birth, and the period after a child has been born. Dopamine is a chemical that directly effects our daily lives by assisting in the movement of or muscles, how we eat, think, and even how we remember things. Serotonin is often imagined as a chemical that heavily contributes to the feelings of happiness and well-being. This is a chemical released primarily in the response to receiving “pleasure.” These 4 chemicals all contribute greatly to becoming addicted to pornography. The more one views pornographic material, the greater satisfaction it will bring them, which has the possibility of leading to dangerous outcomes including becoming a child predator and a serial rapist. Some ways that parents can keep their kids safe from child predators is to keep close tabs on both their online activity and their social life. Parents could ask for help from a trusted friend of the child’s, or even a teacher. Pornography of all types is dangerous.

Pornography is almost like a drug, only this drug enters through the eyes and ears. People like the feeling of sexual arousal, but they eventually want more than what they are already consuming. Some people are willing to go to great lengths, but like with drugs, they can’t simply just stop. It will get to the point where a person will feel as if they cannot get through 24 hours without looking at pornography. The reason why they feel this way, is because the brain is rewiring itself, bit by bit, every time they consume pornography. That person is unwittingly training themselves to think that porn is okay, and that its normal.

There are other things that are considered to be pornography, such as “Sexting.” Sexting is a dangerous way for people to flirt with one another. For the most part, nothing major or illegal happens with sexting, unless nude imagery of someone under the age of 18 is being shared, because that is child pornography. If an adult receives or sends these images of a minor, then that adult will be branded as a sex offender and charged with child pornography. If any teen ever sends or receives nude imagery of themselves or others, it is also considered to be child pornography. No matter what.

There are also other dangers to sexting, such as a ruined reputation. If 2 teens are sexting, and one decides to share on of the messages with a 3rd person, then it spreads like a wildfire. Until everyone in that school knows what that teen looks like without clothes on. Things like this have a severe, negative impact on peoples lives and reputations. This leads to worse things, such as bullying, depression, and sometimes suicide. Sexting is dangerous territory that people need to tread lightly in.

Pornography can, among other things, lead to being put on something that’s called “The Sex Offender Registry.” The registry is a national database that holds the names and information of all child predators, molesters, rapists, and anyone else charged with a sex crime. The registry has specific, set-in-stone rules that the registered people must follow. Such as, anyone on the registry is restricted from living within a certain distance to a school, park, or any public gathering place in which children may be present. The registry also doesn’t allow someone who is registered to work at a school, mall, clothing shop, hospital, clinic, or anywhere that the person may have power over another individual. Like a doctor. Just because they’ve been put on the registry, doesn’t mean that they don’t still have a chance at life. All the time, people become better, work steady jobs, and live happily.

Thousands of people every year are charged with sex crimes, and in many cases it all started with looking at pornography. To some people, pornography may seem harmless. Others probably even encourage it. But these are the people who begin to develop an out-of-control addiction to porn. They get to the point in which porn isn’t good enough anymore. What happens when they hit that point is, they take it too far, usually through committing a sex crime. It’s like a balloon, the addiction swells and swells until it pops, and when it pops, people commit crimes. These crimes vary from rape, to murder and molestation. Once again, this commonly begins with someone looking at pornographic material.

In conclusion, I have found that pornography in itself is one of the most dangerous things in the world. Along with that, pornography has impacted my life in countless negative ways. It’s hurt my ability to be social and focus on what was really important: school. I have realized that, had I been caught, I could have gotten into major legal trouble, probably had to go to a mental illness evaluation facility, and worse. I conclude with the fact that pornography is wrong, it destroys relationships and reputations, and it can lead to an unhealthy addiction to sexual conduct. This is what I’ve come to understand better as I researched the consequences of viewing pornography.