Pornography

There's a lot of pornography all over the Internet. Many teenagers look at pornography. While curiosity toward sex is natural, it is important to remember a couple of things:

• The world depicted by pornography isn't real. No one has sex like they do in porno movies-- pornography is as real as a cartoon. Trying to imitate behavior you see in porn can cause major trouble.
• The law (in the US) says you can't watch porn if you're under 18. Why is this? For the same reason you can't smoke until you're 18-- the law is in place to protect everyone, but in the US adults have a right to choose, and kids don't. So adults can watch porn, even though it may harm them, but kids can't. (But I understand that even though it's illegal many kids ignore the law.)
• The companies that produce porn are often supporters of sexism and racism. Companies who make pornography often highlight "freaks" because they think that will help them sell products. And in the end, that's what they're doing-- selling peoples' bodies as a product.

It sounds like I'm pretty negative on pornography-- and I am. Why? It's not that looking at naked bodies is bad; we were born naked-- how can that be bad? Rather, my problem with porn is that the pictures and movies are sold, and made for selling, and what they are trying to sell is cheap, irresponsible sex-- the kind that no one should really have. And to sell this cheap, irresponsible sex they make it look as good as they can, and they try to sell it to kids.

Now, looking at some naked pictures every once in awhile isn't going to damage you, but the problem is, kids can easily get addicted to pornography. Many teenagers masturbate more than once a day. If you masturbate several times a day, always to pornography, you are probably addicted.

I am not a medical professional, so I cannot give medical advice. But, what I can tell you is that if pornography takes over your life-- and it can, if you're using it several times per day to masturbate-- you need to get help. Talk to someone who can help-- preferably a doctor or a psychologist-- but you should consider telling your parents, too.

It's strange how the human body can become so obsessed with pictures and movies of sex, but it is an increasingly common occurrence. Unfortunately, the Internet makes pornography readily available every day to every one of the millions of people who uses it.

This article is still an early draft, so please add your comments at the bottom of the page.