Opinions on Banning Porn

Banning something never makes it go away, people will always find a way to get whatever it is that is banned such as with alcohol during prohibition. Along with not working, a ban on porn would turn porn addicts into inmates and ruin their life instead of getting them help like they need. It would not bring any positive results at all. Instead of banning porn, we need to raise awareness of the harm it causes and help those in need.

 

It may well help us but would piss off the millions who access porn in a non addictive way

 

It's addictive no matter what. Porn is just horrible.

 

I don't think it's possible to ban it. But there needs to be much much more education and even complete changes in culture on the matter

 

There is almost nothing good about porn, yet I don't think it should be banned. To me it would be a step in the wrong direction, it's another policy that attacks sexual autonomy.

 

Banning it is a bad idea. History has shown us that prohibition doesn't work. Banning pornography would turn the porn industry into a black market, giving criminals a monopoly over a multi-million dollar industry. It wouldn't dissuade people from using it, as we have seen with schedule 1 drugs in the US.

Overall, I don't think that production of porn is the problem our society faces today. The problem we face is the habitual use of (and addiction to) porn. I am not in favor of banning porn. I am in favor of educating people about the risks of using porn, I am in favor of more resources for addicts who want to recover, and I am in favor of more resources for the families of addicts who are affected by this addiction.

It is our responsibility as individuals to protect ourselves from pornography. It is not the responsibility of our government to stop people from making it.

 

We need the dark side so we can complete the Jedi training programme and become fully enlightened warriors.

 

Yes especially for young people. The nature of addiction in general is not taught in schools very well. I remember in school the extent of our education on drugs was wearing a red ribbon on your arm and the quote "just say no" and "peer pressure" they didn't tell us why we should stay away, they didn't tell us the potential consequences long and short term in a very honest way imo. If they educated teens in a proper way and were honest about it, I don't think anyone in their right mind would do it and fall into the habit.

 

This is a good point. I think if people were more willing to talk about their real personal experiences with addiction that it would be much more effective than the vague threats you hear as a kid (drugs are bad, addiction will ruin your life, etc.)

 

Who's being sent to prison for watching porn? Kiddy porn, sure, but that is illegal.

And I'm sure prohibition pissed off the great majority of law-abiding citizens who enjoy a couple glasses of wine when they're out to dinner with friends. Not everyone who uses a potentially addictive substance is an addict. The majority of people who use alcohol are not alcoholics. The majority of people who use any given substance (with a couple exceptions, nicotine for example) don't become addicted. The vast majority. It's important to keep in mind.

 

First of all, I just want to say that I agree with you, so I'm not really criticizing what you're saying here. I think this is an interesting idea you're bringing up, and I think it opens the door for a related question: Is there a responsible amount of porn usage?

Using alcohol as an example, society seems to accept the idea that there's a responsible amount of alcohol to consume. I'm not sure that I agree with that, but society as a whole seems to accept that premise, even if it might actually be false. Biologically, there isn't really a responsible amount of alcohol to consume. It can cause damage to your body even at low dosages. Alcohol is complicated, though. Human beings have a long history with alcohol. There was a time where it was safer to drink alcohol than it was to drink water simply because we didn't have the methods of purifying water that we do today. I think that extended history we have with it, combined with the fact that it sometimes brings people temporary pleasure, is a large part of the reason we generally believe there's a responsible amount of alcohol to consume.

Do we also generally hold the belief that there's a responsible amount of porn to consume? I'm not so sure. It seems to be much more of a polarizing issue than the case of alcohol. People seem to either think that no amount of porn is responsible, or that any amount is responsible. I want to say that I'm somewhere in the middle there, but I'm really just not sure. For me, any amount of porn is irresponsible (but that's mainly because I'm an addict), but I can't imagine what a healthy or responsible porn viewing session would even look like. I was introduced to porn by pre-teen curiosity at a sleepover. When I first saw it, I was shocked, a little disgusted, and curious. I didn't start using it on my own until my parents went through a nasty divorce and my father started abusing me and my siblings. For me, pornography became this escape. It was the only place where I felt like I could express myself freely. I think most people start to use pornography because they're medicating some underlying issue (boredom, insecurity, abuse, neglect, abandonment, etc.). It's for that reason that I just can't really picture what a "responsible" porn viewing session would look like. I think that for any example one might provide where someone is viewing pornography for some reason X, I could provide another example where that same person achieves X without viewing pornography, and hence avoiding the consequences of using it.

We also don't have an extended history with high-speed streaming pornography that's even remotely comparable with the history we have with alcohol. It's a very new concept, and I don't think we fully understand the consequences of modern pornography yet.

I'm really just rambling here, but I think it's a really interesting topic, and I'm curious to see what other folks think about it.

 

Actually, Prohibition Was a Success https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/16/opinion/actually-prohibition-was-a-success.html

First, the regime created in 1919 by the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act, which charged the Treasury Department with enforcement of the new restrictions, was far from all-embracing. The amendment prohibited the commercial manufacture and distribution of alcoholic beverages; it did not prohibit use, nor production for one's own consumption. Moreover, the provisions did not take effect until a year after passage -plenty of time for people to stockpile supplies.

Second, alcohol consumption declined dramatically during Prohibition. Cirrhosis death rates for men were 29.5 per 100,000 in 1911 and 10.7 in 1929. Admissions to state mental hospitals for alcoholic psychosis declined from 10.1 per 100,000 in 1919 to 4.7 in 1928.

Arrests for public drunkennness and disorderly conduct declined 50 percent between 1916 and 1922. For the population as a whole, the best estimates are that consumption of alcohol declined by 30 percent to 50 percent.

Third, violent crime did not increase dramatically during Prohibition. Homicide rates rose dramatically from 1900 to 1910 but remained roughly constant during Prohibition's 14 year rule. Organized crime may have become more visible and lurid during Prohibition, but it existed before and after.

Fourth, following the repeal of Prohibition, alcohol consumption increased. Today, alcohol is estimated to be the cause of more than 23,000 motor vehicle deaths and is implicated in more than half of the nation's 20,000 homicides. In contrast, drugs have not yet been persuasively linked to highway fatalities and are believed to account for 10 percent to 20 percent of homicides.

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Porn should undoubtedly be banned. It's a stimulus equal to highly addictive drugs and besides that destroys your bonding system.

 

Education and awareness of the dangers what porn can do the mind would be better than banning it.

 

I really don't think it's possible. That would like trying to stop a tsunami. There's far to many consuming and producing porn to put a stop to it.

 

Prohibition does not work, and does not makes sense.

But i think that every porn user should know about the dangers of porn, like there should be a disclaimer on every porn site, very big and easy to read, with all the problems porn addiction can lead to.

 

I don't think it should be banned. That would make it even more "taboo" and "exciting". This is especially bad for teenagers, who are in their most formative and rebellious years. Most of the reason young people want to drink and smoke is because they're forbidden fruit.

 

I don't think that the overall decrease in consumption is an indication that prohibition was a success. I just don't think things are that simple. First of all, the decrease in consumption could have been achieved via different means, such as education and increased accessibility to support programs. Second of all, prohibition did nothing to help the people who were going to drink anyway because it only addressed the problem at the alcohol level, rather than the deeper level of the reasons people want to drink in the first place.

I wouldn't say that prohibition was a complete failure. I'd just say that it wasn't effective at helping everyone who needed it, and I think that we can strive for a better solution (even if it might be more difficult to achieve). To me, it looks more like a band-aid than a cure. The roots of alcohol consumption go much deeper than just alcohol. I think people drink for a reason, and I don't think we're going to be able to address our problems with alcohol until we find a solution that addresses that reason, whatever it is.

I'd argue the same thing about pornography. I don't think that banning pornography would address the problem of porn addiction or porn consumption. I'll give the idea some credit: I believe it would be partially effective. It would certainly dissuade many people from using or producing pornography, leading to a decrease in overall consumption. However, pornography addiction and use would still be a problem. I believe we can find a solution that really addresses the issue at the roots, but I think it's going to be much more complicated and difficult to achieve than a ban. Nothing worth achieving in life is easy!

 

I agree that betrayal trauma is a very common consequence of pornography addiction. However, I don't believe that it is impossible to cause betrayal trauma with alcohol or drug usage. In fact, I believe it's quite common. Sometimes, people try to hide their drinking or smoking from others (especially their loved ones). There's lying by omission, there are secrets, and there are D-Days with alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Speaking from personal experience (on the receiving end of the betrayal trauma), I think addiction to those substances can have just as big of an impact on relationships and intimacy. I would agree betrayal trauma is probably more common with pornography addiction than it is with addiction to other substances. It's a lot easier to hide porn usage than it is to hide alcohol, smoking, or other drugs.

I'd say it depends on the particular scenario.

I couldn't agree with this more. There was a huge shift in my recovery when I made the realization that pornography addiction is essentially an addiction to the chemicals produced by my brain when I'm sexually stimulated.