Pornography Pandemic': New Article Reveals 'Eye-Opening' Dangers of Internet Porn

Christian leaders and researchers continue to sound the alarm on pornography use, claiming that it has become a dangerous pandemic that threatens adults, youths and the public health at large.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

Donna Rice Hughes, CEO and president of Enough Is Enough, a nonprofit devoted to ensuring the Internet is a safe place for children, recently wrote a research article on the subject titled, "The Internet P*rnography Pandemic."

In the piece, which was published in the Christian Apologestics Journal, Hughes provided an overview of the research that has been done on the subject of pornography, calling the findings "eye-opening" and claiming that Internet smut has a "harmful impact on the emotional, mental and sexual health of young children, tweens and teens."

"Every child deserves a protected age of innocence and the opportunity to thrive during childhood. Their hearts and minds are innocent, tender, and trusting and need to be safeguarded from the negative influences of increasingly violent and sexualized media," Hughes wrote in the article. "Unfortunately, online pornography damages children, and the consequences are mostly irreversible. Pornography is 'deforming the sexual development of young viewers and is used to exploit children and adolescents.'"

Hughes argued in the piece that porn sometimes overshadows parents in teaching kids about sex, leading to what she believes are some profoundly damaging effects.

"Powerful lies portrayed in exploitative pornography can take the lead in educating children on very important life issues," she wrote. "Pornography teaches sex without love, intimacy, tender touch, responsibility, and commitment."

In addition to taking readers through federal pornography laws and related Supreme Court cases, the paper highlights statistics surrounding how pornography impacts young people.

According to a press release announcing the article, Hughes is hoping to create a culture shift in the way in which people view the "unrelenting social costs of pornography."

Rather than merely exploring the moral parameters surrounding porn use, she argues that there is a need to address how smut is harming public health. In the end, her goal is to create a movement akin to campaigns aimed at helping people stop smoking to help curb porn usage.

Hughes concluded by calling on the faith community to take the lead, noting that correcting societal issues is the job of the Christian church at large.

"Sadly, many of today’s cultural problems are the consequences of the failure of the church to function in society as God intends," she wrote. "America has abandoned its spiritual roots and the vision of our nation’s founding fathers. As a result, America is in a moral free fall."

Read the article in its entirety here.

Hughes is among many other activists who are also speaking out against pornography. Fight the New Drug, an organization that opposes pornography, also believes that smut isn’t merely a moral stumbling block, but that it’s also a public health conundrum that poses some serious risks to the human brain.

“We will not rest until the world knows that pornography is harmful,” a greeting message reads on the group’s website.

Also, Project Know, an alcohol and substance abuse program, noted in its research last year that pornography, by its very design, “poses significant risk of addiction” and is “the perfect trap for the human sex drive.”

And earlier this year, former Miss America Kirsten Haglund told TheBlaze in an interview that she believes pornography and the “hyper-sexuality” of women are having a negative impact on society.

It portrays an unrealistic view of women and that, perpetuated, destroys relationships,” Haglund said of porn. “Unrealistic expectations destroy relationships.”

(H/T: Charisma News)

--

Front page image via Shutterstock.com