Let’s Talk About Porn
Lifting the Rug on Porn
O. J. Carney
AS CONFRONTING AND EXPLOSIVE AS THE WORD IS, PORN is one of the prevalent issues facing young people today. But it’s often not given the spotlight of the scale and grip it has on young people today. The issue with “Porn’s” sensitivity is it creates a hostile environment in which discourse and solutions on the topic are often void of anything that solves the real issues that it causes young men and women.
But the research is clear. In Australia, just under half (44%) of children aged 9–16 surveyed had encountered sexual images in the last month. (Australian Institute of Family Studies). So let’s talk about it.
Porn or the adult film industry is an exploitative corporate trade that profits from the exploitation of young girls often illegally sex trafficked and victims of abuse. What most people fail to think of in Porn is that profit is at the centre of their goals. They don’t care that the profit they make is on the back of creating addictions, sexual violence and body dysmorphia. Businesses like Pornhub generated an annual revenue of 97 billion in 2021. Pornhub details every part of their interface to create an addictive consumer experience, an addiction that could last for young men into their adult lives and have a serious effect on their future relationships.
The problem with porn is it offers people mass surges of dopamine without having done any work. It’s free, accessible and available 24/7. This has led to a normalisation of pornography across Western culture and has led to kids or teenagers looking into porn as a means of normal entertainment or pleasure, one that teenagers don’t really understand the repercussions for. Kids as young as 9 look to Porn as a feature of growing up into being sexually knowledgeable adults. This is really damaging as Porn offers a completely subverted understanding of what sex is and how consent operates. With the mass waves of rape cases rising across Australian schools, Porn has to be assessed as having a major role in fuelling sexual violence in young people.
Often we understand Porn is harmful and this has been drilled into us through our parents and the school but addiction is often a hard thing to break. I think the best way to combat Porn is to destigmatise the word, Porn. It’s confronting to have honest conversation with yourselves, others and as a society as a whole but the most problematic approach is treating it like it’s not there. Ignoring and censoring the issue only exacerbates and brings on more shame. Young people need help and they need a platform where they are not ashamed or disciplined for their actions. They need compassion, conversations and honesty. The sooner we can destigmatise the word “Porn” the sooner we can spread public awareness and understanding of it and the sooner people can reach out for help.
The issue of online pornography is a significant concern, as research indicates that it can have a very negative impact on young people. It can profoundly affect their perception of self, others, and relationships, often leading to very negative and harmful consequences. Recognising the ease with which young individuals can access such content, our School is committed to addressing this challenge proactively. We regularly engage in meaningful conversations with our students about the negative effects of pornography. These discussions are facilitated by external speakers and further explored in tutorial sessions, Year, and House meetings. It’s important that we collaborate closely with parents to confront this issue and encourage the boys to ask for help. To support this partnership, we provide access to valuable resources on School TV. Parents are encouraged to visit Shore’s School TV site and this special edition about Online Pornography for more information and tools to help best understand and manage this issue effectively.
Mr D Champion
Deputy Head, Pastoral Care