The Point: Fall 2018

What Happens When We Take from the Tree
Writer: Jasmyne Bell
Story Editor: Kendall Jarboe
Photographer: Maddi Seyfarth
Designer: Lindsey Hayden
In America, life is lived in a sex-crazed
culture. Seventy-two percent of
men and 28 percent of women are
addicted to pornography. The average age
of exposure for boys is 8 years old and 11
years old for girls, according to the Daily
Mail. Before their brains have reached full
development, children are being set up
for a sexual downfall. The Daily Mail also
informs readers that the next generation is
growing up in a world where pornography
is more accessible than in any other time
in history. Children are on their smartphones
every night before bed scrolling
through Instagram and checking Snapchat.
Feeding a premature mind obscene
content has consequences in the long run
and extends further than the individual
themselves.
The media tells the public that porn consumption
is a healthy way to get to know
their sexuality better, and will leave them
more satisfied in the end. Others would
argue that pornography is not really an
issue and that people have the power to
control their intake. However, in an article
from Wired, porn addiction has been
likened to that of crack cocaine. Because
of the 24/7 access to the internet, porn
addiction is harder to get rid of than
narcotic drugs. An individual can clear
their system of drugs, but mental images
are harder to erase. A study conducted by
Mary Anne Layden, Director of Education
at the University of Pennsylvania’s
Center for Cognitive Therapy, concluded
that porn is the, “most concerning thing
to psychological health that we know of
existing today.”
On the surface, watching explicit media
seems less harmful because the consumer
believes they are in control. What is seen
on a screen is detached from the real
world, and consumers forget to consider
the emotional and mental toll it takes on
their minds. Due to this phenomenon of
detachment from reality, Tech Addiction
reports severe clinical depression is twice
as frequent among internet pornography
viewers compared to non-viewers. Many
use pornography as a form of escapism,
according to the Cabin Hong Kong.
Using porn to numb one’s perception of
reality is not uncommon.
When someone is depressed, they have a
chemical imbalance in their brain. Covenant
Eyes wrote an article breaking down
the brain chemicals that are released when
viewing porn, and why these chemicals
cause addiction. When a consumer views
porn, it releases dopamine, which leads to
people feeling a temporary high. When
this chemical is released into a region of
the brain responsible for emotions and
learning, it gives the consumer a feeling
of attachment. The brain then craves the
source of the dopamine release. Because
porn gives viewers a sense of fleeting
pleasure, it is easy to get hooked. During
the beginning stages of porn addiction,
the brain also experiences a rush of norepinephrine,
leading the brain to be alert
and focused as well as prepared for the
rush of dopamine. After going through
the routine multiple times, the brain and
body get familiar with the rush, which
kick-starts a bad habit that is hard to
break.
Pornography has effects on individual
after individual. While there is a difference
between the way men and women
express their sexuality, both are able to
fall into addiction. In addition, Biola
alumnus Jacob Keeth reflects on the lack
of differences between men and women
who struggle with porn addiction.
“We need to do away with the false
dichotomy that ‘men are visual and
women are feelers, they just want human
connection, men want physicality.’ That
is a gross oversimplification of gender
and biological difference between men
and women,” Keeth said. “Physiologically,
psychologically speaking men and
women are different. The Bible, too, affirms
gender difference. However, when
it comes to pornography, men and women
are far more similar, I believe, than
what we’re often willing to consider.”
29