Is Pornography Addictive?

Pornography is defined by Wikipedia as, the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purpose of sexual arousal. Pornography may be presented in a variety of media, including books, magazines, postcards, photographs, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video, and video games”.

There are varied opinions on pornography and one of the contentious opinions has to do with whether pornography is addictive or not. Weir, K. (2014) in her featured article of the American psychological Association website for instance argues that, “While many viewers of adult content don't seem to suffer ill effects, porn can become problematic for others. The Kinsey Institute survey found 9 percent of porn viewers said they had tried unsuccessfully to stop”. Weir then concludes by saying, “Whether or not pornography is a diagnosable addiction, it's clear it hurts some people. For them, there just isn't much evidence about how best to control this behavior”.

This thus presents us with a case of those who believe pornography is addictive and those who think it is not. For those who believe pornography is addictive like Downs, M. (2007), “The effects of porn on the brain were called "toxic" and compared to cocaine. One psychologist claimed "prolonged exposure to pornography stimulates a preference for depictions of group sex, sadomasochistic practices, and sexual contact with animals”. However, Downs in the same article points out the works and words of some scholars/doctors and specialists who believe pornography is not addictive.

One such Scholar is Violet Blue who contends that, “porn addiction (is a label) that’s used to put down behavior that’s disapproved of socially”. Erick Janssen, PHD, for example according to Downs believe there is nothing like porn addiction because those who are thought to be addicts do not progress like other people who are addicted to other substances likes cocaine. He contends that people addicted to other substances tend to crave more and more of that substance and thus develop a “tolerance to the addictive substances”. Thus for example “drug addicts need increasingly larger doses to get high”, but Janssen argues according to Downs that this is never the case with respect to those thought to be porn addicts.

There are those who hold a more measured view with regard to this topic however, one of such are Campell, k. and McConnell, G (1996) who say, “Not everyone who sees pornography will become addicted to it. Some will just come away with toxic ideas about women, sex, marriage and children”. But they contend however that, there exists five ways to get addicted to pornography. These steps they believe include, ‘early exposure, addiction, escalation, desensitization, acting out sexually”.

Also, Skinner, B. K. (2014), PHD, quotes Dr. Valerie Voon from Cambridge University as (finding), “Pornography triggers brain activity in people with compulsive sexual behavior – known commonly as sex addiction – similar to that triggered by drugs in the brains of drug addicts”, in his work, Is Pornography (Sexual) Addiction Real. But he was quick to point out that, “The authors did caution that this does not mean that pornography itself is addictive, but that it highlights regions of the brain similar to those with drug addictions”.

The belief that porn is addictive often lies in the nature/form(s) in which pornographic movies and images come. . Layden, M. A.in the article ‘Pornography and Violence: A New Look at research’ for example who adopts a systematic approach to the question begins by making the claim that, “we learn better using images than words…We also learn better aroused…. And learning is better if it is reinforced…. Learning is also better if we see role models perform a behavior… Finally, we learn better when the learning is rewarded…” Thus, bexause of the form in which porn comes, one is more likely to get addicted and act it out because the human cognitive ability is designed to accept information in that form easily.

This view is also supported by, Smith, K. (2012), who also believes that, “There are some unique aspects about pornography that make it easily addictive. It's so readily available online; sex is a wired in desire for all men and not one very easily done without; Internet porn sites are designed to get us to want more and more, which feeds a key ingredient of addictions”. Thus he believes the wide existence of pornographic materials makes it easier for one to be addicted coupled to the fact that men are supposed to be some genetically programmed “sex machines”.

My view on the matter is not quite different from what most scholars have adduced to, and I believe there may be someone somewhere in the world, who believes they are addicted to pornography, but I do not believe pornography is addictive in the same way food is not addictive, but there are people who claim to be food addicts.

I will have to also disagree with Smith (2012) especially, who asserts that that the unlimited and unrestricted access to pornographic materials tends to make pornography a candidate for addiction, because, if that were to be accepted, then one would assume that the availability of knives in our homes, and on the market, will does make human beings addicted to cutting things or stabbing other human beings. If this were true also, then it would mean about 60% of men would all be porn addicts by now as the internet penetration in the world reaches an all time high. If men are “wired” naturally to crave sex, and pornographic materials are easily available, and internet sites porn are designed to get us all hooked on porn, then every male and a significant number of women who have access to the internet should be a porn addict by now.

Thus in effect, pornography is addictive only to the extent that the person who ‘claims’ to be addicted wants to be addicted. No one can disagree with someone who believes they are addicted to pornography, but as to the pornographic contents itself being addictive like nicotine in cigarettes it is yet to be proved.

The Author Albert Opare is a political science graduate from the University of Ghana and a social commentator as well as a social & political activist. You can contact the author by mail on [email protected] or txt on 0575125101. Comments and Criticisms are welcome

References
Campbell, K. and McConnell, G. (1996). The Stages of Porn Addiction. Retrieved 25^th September, 2015. From http://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/divorce-and-infidelity/pornography-and-virtual-infidelity/stages-of-porn-addiction

Downs, M. (2007). Is Pornography Addictive? : Psychologists Debate whether People can have an Addiction to Pornography. Retrieved 25^th September, 2015. From http://www.webmd.com/men/features/is-pornography-addictive

Layden, M. A. Pornography and Violence: A New Look at Research. Retrieved 24th September, 2015. From www.socialcostsofpornography.com/Layden_Pornography_and_Violence

Skinner, B. K. (2014). Is Pornography (Sexual) Addiction Real? Retrieved 25^th September, 2015. From https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/inside-porn-addiction/201411/is-pornography-sexual-addiction-real

Smith, K. (2012). Top 3 Causes of Addiction to Porn. Retrieved 25^th September, 2015. from http://www.guystuffcounseling.com/counseling-men-blog/bid/47051/Top-3-Causes-of-Addiction-to-Porn

Weir, K. (2014). Is Pornography Addictive? American Psychological Association. 45(4), 45. Retrieved 25^th September, 2015. From http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/04/pornography.aspx

Wikipedia. Pornography. Retrieved 24th September, 2015. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pornography