Influence of pornography among teenagers
- Part 1 -
Hegin Misao Hangmi *
The communicator of pornography is but Media. Media is the intervening substance through which
something is transmitted or
carried on. It is the whole
body of communications that
reaches large numbers of the
people via radio, television,
movies, magazines, newspapers and the World Wide
Web. This is the kind of society young people are
introduced to.
Many innocent, young and tender
children are victims of this
plague which they do not
deserve. Unlike the western
world the issue of sex or
pornography is a little talked
of the society. It is an undercurrent issue in the prevailing
society. However, that does
in no way make the society
safe or unaffected from the
porno contagion.
Sensitization and preventive
measures taken up by various
Non Governmental Organizations and churches have not
been able to effectively rout
out the social disease. In the
mean time, to redeem the
community, particularly the
teenagers from the issue demand certain costs. 'Who'
should take up the costs,
'what to apply' and 'how to'
is a challenge. The increasing
rate of the use of pornography is alarming among the
teenagers, 93% of boys and
62% of girls are exposed to
internet porn. The population
victimized could not get out
of their turmoil because there
was no one to help them
work their way out.
The Christian emphasis on
monogamic, heterosexual relationships based on love and
commitment is challenged in
favour of hedonistic promiscuity. An aversion of values
ensures that goodness and
purity are ridiculed in favor
of lust and immorality. The
biblical taboos against incest,
bestiality, and homosexual
practices are rejected in favor
of a moral relativism that
goes well beyond secular
humanistic values of consent
and caring.
Dr. Victor Cline identified
a four-stage progression describing the addictive quality
of pornography. According to
Cline, after exposure and repeated viewing, a person
enters stage one, which is
addiction
. We know from recent
research that porn viewing
stimulates a powerful cocktail
of neurotrans- mitters that
floods the brain and provides
a high similar to that produced by narcotics. Once
addicted, a person may reach
stage two, which is
escalation . In this stage, material
that formerly produced the
"high" no longer does. More
material, longer viewing times
and harder, coarser, more
degrading material is sought
in order to achieve the same
degree of stimulation. The
third stage is desensitization.
Dr. Cline wrote: "Material
which was originally perceived as shocking,
taboo-breaking, illegal, repulsive or immoral, in time,
comes to be seen as acceptable and commonplace." The
final stage involves
acting out what the user has seen in
pornography . This could take
the form of seeking out prostitutes, engaging in group
sex, voyeurism, inflicting
pain, compulsive promiscuity,
committing rape or child
sexual assault.
What should parents do?
Confrontation in a caring
manner is the best method.
Perhaps it would be helpful
to share from your own experience and emotions the
sexual drive and temptations
you had as a teenager. This
will put you in a more vulnerable position, but by being
more honest with your teenager, chances are you will be
more effective. Your teen will
see that you can identify with
him, and as a result he may
consider your point of view
important and may not want
to disappoint you.
Parents can explain that it
is normal to have sexual desires, and these desires are
especially pronounced in the
teen years. This drive is God-given and natural, but it needs
to be channelled in the right
direction so that his/her sex
life in marriage can be more
meaningful and free from the
emotional and physical consequences that come from
misuse of sex. Talk about
sublimation – alternative activities such as exercise,
social gatherings, crafts
projects, and a myriad of other
constructive ways to divert
sexual energy.
Parents can talk about
pornography and its effects
to their teens. When discussing this, talk about the value
of human beings – that people are not objects, but
individuals of worth and dignity. Talk about how God
intended sex to be something
beautiful and something dirty.
Those mental images are hard
to erase and lustful thoughts
are only promoted when
these materials are in the teenager's hands.
Dr. Josh McDowell says,
"If I were asked to name the
number-one reason a teen-
ager yields to sexual
pressure, at the top of my list
would be adolescent aliena-
tion brought on by parent
inattentiveness. To insulate
the teenagers from the many
sexual pressures, one has to
enter their world and connect
with them through an open
relationship of mutual respect
and love. Establishing sexual
prohibitions and rules without a nurturing, loving parent/youth bond often leads to
relational disconnection and
rebellion. But the rules and
guidelines for sexual behaviour offered within the
context of an intimate relational connection will
generally lead to a positive
response.
The guidelines provided to the teenagers in the
context of relationships need
to take the form of open communication about sex. When
teenagers hear obscene words
for sex or illegitimate sexual
activity, take time to give
them the proper terms and
explain why the improper
terms or activities are wrong.
Take time to talk about God's
view of sex in relationships.
Arm yourself and the teenag
ers with the many reasons to
say no to pornography and
sexual pressure. Don't let
them be the victim of ignorance, nor allow them to be
defenceless in the share, they
will be able to sense our own
loving heart to protect them
from harm and to provide for
their good – and that will help
keep us relationally connected. Jesus had strong
words about our sexual
thoughts and behaviours. He
said, "You have heard that it
was said, 'Do not commit
adultery', but I tell you that
anyone who looks at a
woman lustfully has already
committed adultery with her
in his heart" (Matthew 5:27).
to be continued ....
* Hegin Misao Hangmi wrote this article for The Sangai Express
The writer is a Christian Counselor, he can be reached at ginmisao(AT)gmail(DOT)com or facebook.com/hegin.misao1
This article was posted on September 03, 2016.
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