Cyber Porn and its Affects

Final Research Paper

By: Jamie Martinez
April 25, 2016
Comm 2500

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary cyber porn is defined as, pornography

accessible online especially via the Internet, and addiction is defined as, a strong
harmful need to regularly have something (such as a drug) or do something (such
as gamble). (Merriam-Webster) Both of these define cyber porn both accessible
and addictive. 93% of boys and 62% of girls are exposed to Internet pornography
before the age of 18. Cyber porn unfortunately is something that has become more
accessible through the years as well as something that continues to interfere with
the childhood of young girls and young boys.
Cyber porn has continued to take over the world more and more every day and is
progressively becoming something that young children are being impacted by.
Research shows that media has a tremendous capacity to teach. Excessive media
use, particularly where the content is violent, gender-stereotyped, and/or sexually
explicit, skews childrens world views, increases high-risk behaviors, and alters their
capacity for successful and sustained human relationships. (American Bar
Association) Dr. Sharon Cooper, a forensic Pediatrician at The University of North
Carolina School of Medicine actually found that young children are more vulnerable
to pornographic images because of the mirror neurons in the brain, which are what
convince people that they are actually experiencing what they see. With that being
said, mirror neurons are what play a big role in a childs learning experience and
they are what teach children about imitating others. (American Bar Association) So
when young children are viewing pornography through the Internet and seeing the
vulgar acts that are being performed, that is something that automatically makes

their brain think that that is something that is okay, and that that is how all women
should be treated.
Pornography is by far the most vulgar type of media towards women. Showing
sexual acts that include violence as well as showing how to take advantage of a
woman. 83% of boys have seen group sex on the internet (Family Boot Camp) and
with that large of a number of boys viewing pornography, it has more of a chance for
those boys to develop social and mental issues when they are older as well as
develop aggressive behavior towards other women. There was a study found that
only 10.2% of pornographic scenes did not contain an aggressive act and that
physical aggression occurred in 88.2% of the scenes whether it was verbal or
physical. (American Bar Association) And then in 2001-2004 a survey was
conducted with middle school and high school students and it concluded that 76% of
boys actually admitted to committing some sort of sexual crime or sexual
harassment toward another girl and also reported use of sexual media. (American
Bar Association) When we have boys this young committing these types of crimes it
only leads to further development of aggression towards women who they date in
future relationships or sometimes even family members. With this type of behavior it
can put all women figures in these boys lives in danger and also put the boys at risk
for developing further mental and health issues and can ultimately lead them to even
be serving a prison sentence for committing crimes.
As for young girls, the affect on them can be a little different than it would be on
boys. For example, a visitor recently went to a suburban public school in New Jersey
and asked a class of 42 eighth grade students if they have ever seen pornography

and all 42 students raised their hands. (People Magazine) During the visit a 13-yearold girl shared that her boyfriend informed her that she was fat and that he wished
she looked like the big-breasted women in porn and that she had their bodies. That
is something that no 13-year-old girl should ever have to hear, especially from her
boyfriend. The fact that children that young are getting the picture that all women
should have large breasts and tiny bodies is something that will only continue to
bring down the confidence in young girls and make them feel badly about
themselves. In their future relationships it can lead to them performing sexual acts
because they have either been pressured, or they feel that if they dont do it then
their significant other will not love them. It also does not help that in our world now,
women are viewed as sex symbols. We are looked at as if we need to be sexy and
look a certain way, and if we arent then we are not beautiful. However, just because
women are viewed this way, does not mean that girls are not just as guilty as boys
are for viewing cyber porn.
As I stated earlier, 62% of young girls are exposed to cyber porn before the age
of 18. And with that being said they have just as high of a chance of becoming
addicted to it as boys do. At the University of Duisberg-Essen a psychologist by the
name of Christian Laier conducted a study of cybersex addiction in women and
develop a better understanding of its predictors. During this study they gathered a
group of 102 young heterosexual adult females ranging from ages 18-29. They
divided the women based on both the use of Internet pornography and use of
Internet sex chat rooms. After the study was complete, they found that women who
more frequently used Internet pornography were more likely to watch soft-core

photos and videos but were actually even more likely to view hardcore photos and
video websites. (PsychologyToday.com) After the study was finished they concluded
that in the end whether you are a man or a women, the reason for viewing the cyber
porn is because you feel a sense of desire and excitement as well as cravings for
more sexual activity which can sometimes lead to having multiple sex partners.
Believe it or not there are actually people out there who view cyber porn as
having positive effects as well. There are studies that show viewing pornography is
healthy and that it shows you are comfortable with your sex life. However, there are
also studies that show men and women who view pornography both have an
increase in lust and sexual desire due to the fact they are learning new positions and
tips on how to turn on the opposite sex. (CyberPsychology.eu) This is something I
can partially understand, mainly because sex can be viewed as such a horrible thing
but in reality it is apart of life and that is something everyone will have to face at one
point in their lives whether they like it or not.
Growing up in Utah, sex is not something that is looked at positively and cyber
porn is something that you can now newly find as being illegal in Utah. Governor
Herbert recently signed a resolution declaring pornography illegal and a public
health crisis This anti-porn resolution was introduced by Republican state Senator
Todd Weiler back in January 2015 because he felt that there was an epidemic in
Utah when it came to cyber porn and he did not wanting it affecting our children. The
resolution calls for increased education, prevention, research, law enforcement and
policy change at the community and societal level. (ABCnews.com) And now under
the new law anyone who posses any form of pornography of any kind whether it be

a magazine or viewing online will expect to pay harsh fines and even jail time for
repeat offenders. This is something that I find absolutely ridiculous in all honesty, by
having this law it is something that can increase taxes and fill up jails that much
quicker. I am sure more than half the state of Utah has viewed porn at one point or
another and the fact that if you view it you can now face jail time I find a little over
board. I understand that the Governor is only trying to protect Utahs children,
however handling the situation this way can only lead Utahs tax payers to paying
more money to have unnecessary jail sentences.
With my conclusion with this paper I now see both the positive and the negative
effects of viewing cyber porn. I understand 100% that the fact young boys are
viewing such content online can lead to aggression and sexual assault towards
women and sometimes even death. This is something that we can work on
preventing by monitoring childrens Internet use as well as adding safety blocks on
all Internet accessible technology. But in the end you can only do so much and no
matter how much you try and prevent your child from viewing cyber porn, there is
always that chance that he or she may see it somewhere else whether it be with a
friend or by accident. I feel that making our cyber porn issue more aware and
sharing stories of how it effects you in the long run is something that is a lot more
beneficial because then kids are actually seeing the effects rather then just hearing
about them from word of mouth.

Bibliography
Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
Baxter, Allison. "Advertisement." How Pornography Harms Children:
The Advocate's Role. Allison Baxter, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
"Warning to Parents: Cyber-sex Addiction Is a Teen Issue." RSS. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
"How Women Get Addicted to Cybersex." Psychology Today. N.p., n.d.
Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
"Utah Makes Pornography Illegal- Fines & Jail Time for Repeat
Offenders."Abcnews.com.co. Abcnews, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.