The Library

Anyone who avidly follows contemporary popular culture and cultural trends in general is probably well aware that the pornography (adult entertainment) industry is an entity that generates billions of dollars of revenue in the United States annually. What is more notable is the fact that 90% of young boys and 60% of young girls have been exposed to pornography before they reach the age of 18.

Children become introduced to such material at 11 years old. Thus, it is hardly a surprise that we live in a society that is deeply immersed in and obsessed with pornography.

In 1994, the recently revived Promise Keepers organization conducted a survey that revealed that 50% of the men who attended their rallies engaged themselves with porn within one week of attending the event. That was two decades ago. The fact that a considerable percentage of religious people have been affected by pornography causes many individuals to take notice.

Other statistics from several studies and articles conducted by researchers found that:

· 50% of religious men and 20% of religious women stated that they were addicted to pornography.

· 54% of men polled that they visited porn websites at least frequently.

· Men are more than 543% more likely to look at porn than women.

· People who have committed adultery are more likely to view pornography.

· People who have paid for sex are 270% more likely to view adult sexual content.

Prior to the 1990s, pornography was something that most people had to travel across town to purchase in the red-light district. It was material that one could largely only find in adult book stores and eventually, in some cases, convenience stores where it was located behind the counter and one had to produce an ID indicating adulthood to purchase such material. In other cases, most young boys’ exposure to such material was sneaking into their parents’ bedroom and inadvertently coming across their father’s magazines. For the record, my father did not purchase or view pornography.

Decades later, with the advent of the internet, coupled with the relative degree of anonymity it affords, having access to adult-oriented content is much easier, and many people, particularly men, have not hesitated to take advantage.

It is probably safe to say that the majority of Americans (myself included) have viewed some pornography when they were relatively young, however minimal, without having it dramatically alter our lives. That being said, the downside is that, in our current environment, too many people (men in particular) are seeing their lives turned upside down as pornography has increasingly gained considerable control of their lives—sexually, psychologically, socially, financially and, in some cases, physically. In some cases, careers are being ruined and families are being torn apart.

In certain segments of society, sexual abuse, human trafficking and, in some cases, rape are steadily increasing. While pornography addiction cannot be blamed as the sole reason for these issues, it is certainly more than likely a contributing factor. These facts are troubling on a number of levels.

It is an issue that must be addressed quickly and aggressively.