Posted on 01/18/2013 6:56:42 PM PST by Morgana
LATROBE, PA, January 18, 2013, (Cardinal Newman Society) -- Seventy percent of 18-24 year-old males visit porn sites monthly.
That’s not just a frightening number. That’s an epidemic of pornography that is likely going on at college campuses all throughout the country — even Catholic colleges.
Jason King, chair of the theology department at Saint Vincent’s College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, wrote about the accessibility and damage of pornography in his latest piece at Catholic Moral Theology. King summed up the situation well when he wrote that people used to have to exert an effort to view pornography. Now you have to exert an effort to not view it.
King provided further scary statistics about the viewing of pornography and its effects:
The best estimates indicate that 77 percent of Americans view pornography at least once a month. 75-77 percent of males have downloaded porn in their lives. 20 percent of males consciously abstain from viewing pornography. 47 percent of women believe pornography harms relationships while 33 percent of men said the same. 33 percent of all Americans believe that pornography will not harm a relationship. During a six-week experiment the statement, “marriage is an important institution,” was affirmed by 60 percent of men who viewed no pornography during that period, but only 39 percent of those exposed to heavy viewing of pornography during the same period affirmed the same statement.
The best advice King could offer is don’t start viewing pornography, install internet filters, and look to God’s love.
I would probably despair of this situation except for two things. First, practically, the beginning of a solution to this problem is simple: stop (or do not start) viewing pornography. If help is needed with this, there are countless effective and free filters available for routers. This one was recommended to me by two of my tech savvy friends.
Secondly, theological, God made us such that in our hearts we desire much more than what pornography offers; we desire to love and to be loved. This is the heart of the Church’s sexual teaching: that sex should always be life-giving, not destructive, dominating, violent, or commercialized. This is why the metaphor Jesus frequently uses for Heaven is the wedding banquet, friends and family singing, dancing, and eating in the celebration of love. Pornography cannot ultimately compete with this joy for which God made us.
Saint Vincent’s, where King teaches, announced in 2008 that it was placing internet filters on its computer network to block student access to pornography and gambling websites. It was controversial at the time.
You can read Jason King at Catholic Moral Theology.
“Now suppose you came to a country where you could fill a theater by simply bringing a covered plate onto the stage and then slowly lifting the cover so as to let everyone see . . . that it contained a mutton chop or bit of bacon, would not you think that in that country something had gone wrong in the appetite of food?” - C.S. Lewis
Despite all ideas regarding the reasons young men view porn, the issue remains whether it damages. If it damages anyone, viewer, actor orauthor, then any justification of porn is moot
I believe the gender gap is narrowing as more porn is targeted toward women.
We live in a society where for a variety of reasons getting married before 24 is generally frowned upon. Even if you don’t agree that it’s unrealistic to expect 18-24 year old men to abstain from sex; it’s silly to the point of absurdity to expect them not to look at any porn at all.
One is because even Christians incourage their kids to wait to get married which is stupid because even girls at the age of passing the flower want to start experiencing woman hood.
So even Christians would rather make a whore out of their daughters in the name of womwns rights and independence than to teach them to do right and let them do what is right.
As far as the men are concerned why buy a cow if they can get the milk free.
I have watched a couple porn shows, some of it would gag a maggot, plus i have no desire to see men, if it were just women i might have watched more but even that would be stupid because it does not take the place of a prostitute.
If some one is starving for food what good would it do to watch a movie of people eating?
While it is true that we all sin and have come short of the glory of God but can be forgiven, with all of the modern stuff that we have we are in a world where we are too busy with our pagan pratices to even think of asking for forgiveness.
It is natural for young people to want to start experiencing the secrets of the older people but there is a big difference in going on an adventure and watching a video of one.
I agree with you. I’ve always said that if these guys would spend half their effort and attention (now used ogling women they could never get the attention of in real life) on a real woman, they’d find quite a bit of satisfaction.
One of the side effects of porn watching is that ones math skills degenerate. Sadly.
Xlnt
Why is it so hard to believe that 23-30% of Americans don’t watch porn? A number of older people whose sex drives are greatly diminished would have no interest in it. And I’m sure there is a remnant of younger saints who don’t look at it. All things are possible by God’s Grace. This is a secret reason why conservatives and someone like a Rick Santorum would have a hard time being elected president. The liberals demonize the Republicans for their conservative stances and so many with guilty consciences hate them and run out and vote Democrat.
“They are surprised that you do not plunge into the same swamp of profligacy, and they vilify you” -1 Peter 4:4
“And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed.” -John 3:19,20
I figure watching porn makes up for their own performance disability.
I figure watching porn makes up for their own performance disability.
But, after all, as long as you are a capitalist, God is duty-bound to save the country. (sarc).
And even young men at that.
Sadly very true, potlatch.
I think you’re out of touch if you think porn and prostitution are the primary sex options for 18-24 year olds.
Hell what we have on regular TV ads would have once been considered porn and in an online culture where all it takes is one bad click and it comes up not to mention flipping channels. That porn is so integrated into our culture is intentional, I think. It’s a great distractor and keeps people from focusing on things they would take action against. It’s one of the most lucrative industries on the planet and the government must love the tax $$$’s it brings. It’s intentional folks.
I just watch it for the bad 70’s music.
They forget that they helped make women the way they are now. There was a time when nice women, who didn't ‘put out’, would lose boyfriends because they'd drop her to find the loose woman. Eventually the young women learned there was only one way to ‘keep’ him - and now the guys wonder why they are the way they are.
And - as you say - men spend time ogling the ‘enhanced, picture perfect’ women and then when young women copy that they are called cheap and skanks. Women basically like to dress to please men - they're just doing what the men seem to want.
Thankfully I grew up in a better, nicer time.
Oddly enough, not all of it was bad. There used to be an Internet radio station called Fluffertrax that played nothing but the music used in dirty movies. It wasn’t too bad, as they wanted public domain songs that lasted a long time, and had limited lyrics, for the most part.
They also wanted novelty songs, such as Piero Umiliani’s Mah Nà Mah Nà, which was also used for Sesame Street and Benny Hill. The same with Yakety Sax.
Thank you 9YL - I’m thrilled with the replies I received. Common sense still exists, lol!
Chris Joss's "Discoteque Dancing"
does a creditable job recreating that sound. I'd rate the video PG (would be rated G, but it's a little weird for young uns)
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