The age of porn

These views lead us to question whether the complexity of the issue of pornography is appreciated.

Certainly, pornography addiction can have harmful effects.

However, not all consumers of porn become addicted. One study has said one per cent of people are likely to be addicted to cyber-sex, and between one per cent and eight per cent may have Internet addiction disorder. These numbers are relatively low. There is nothing to suggest the use of porn itself exceeds natural tendencies to be sexual on a daily basis.

And while addiction is possible it is still not quite fair to compare porn consumption with drug consumption.

Porn is more readily and freely available than crack.

We do not deny pornography is frequently accessed. One side-effect of the age of the Internet is the ease with which anyone can access graphic videos. With Trinidad and Tobago having the highest per capita Internet usage in the region, it is not hard to imagine a lot of that usage relates to pornographic websites.

However, there have not been enough local studies on this issue to come to any conclusions on the impact of this on our society. For instance, how does porn use influence human behaviour? How do online video clips compare with other media such as movies, sitcoms, print magazines, music? Are they more or less influential? Religious leaders have been quick to condemn pornography usage by children. At the symposium, Roman Catholic Archbishop Joseph Harris linked porn with Carnival, while Bishop Robert Llanos decried that the age of porn use is as low as eight in some countries.

However, the role of pornography in sex education has been lost in the discussion. Sadly, in a society where people are not encouraged to discuss matters of sexuality, most children will now learn about sex online. This is an invaluable tool, not a nuisance.

The porn industry has actually played a role in promoting condom use, with various porn producers stipulating the mandatory use of condoms in some videos. Where condoms are not used, warnings are often posted pointing out that the actors involved have been tested for sexually transmitted diseases.

Either way, these videos have shown how condoms can be fully integrated in a pleasurable sex life.

This is very important in a society in which sexual taboos still hinder public health concerns surrounding various sexually transmitted diseases.

We do not deny some pornography is extreme. But even this may have a useful purpose. There is some evidence to suggest that watching pornography helps people release impulses they might otherwise seek to act out in real life.

It is not as though sex was invented by the Internet. Trinidad and Tobago society is replete with sex. The annual Carnival tradition revolves around the human body, with revealing costumes and suggestive music. Even if the calypsoes of yesteryear were not as crass as some of today’s soca, they certainly had heavy doses of double entendres, which entrenched the taboo and titillating nature of all things sexual.

We hold no brief for pornographers and agree that pornography should be withheld from children since we are not sure what the impact is on them. At the same time, we do not feel it is productive to take a sanctimonious stance on porn, especially given the useful role played by some of it. There needs to be more considered study of the implications of living in the age of porn.