Banning pornography is not a solution, not least because it is not possible – 06/29/2023 – Tech

The word pornography derives from the Greek “porne” (prostitute) and “grafia” (to write about). According to the “Novo Dicionário Aurélio”, it corresponds to descriptions or representations considered obscene, of a sexual nature, whether in a book, film or website, whose intention is to provoke excitement.

Nowadays, the concept of pornography has gained new contours; access to it became popular and use became more flexible. There are already studies demonstrating that its consumption activates two processes, promoting greater acceptance of variations in sexual behavior (even the less conventional ones), as well as a greater sense of authorization (what is seen is experienced).

There are four factors that, more recently, facilitated indiscriminate access to pornography: the private nature, accessibility and low cost of using the internet, in addition to the confinement resulting from the pandemic. Who doesn’t access social media? Who, once isolated, has not sought to meet their sexual needs virtually?

As the demand for this alternative grew, so did the supply of materials, making pornography consumption a new sexual habit, more exploited and universal than ever.

What good can such a shady habit do? ask the most skeptical.

Now, the most frequent users of pornography are men between 18 and 24 years old, the same ones who tend to find out about sex on the internet, because that way they don’t expose themselves. Excellent opportunity to benefit sexual health, since they do not practice prevention and have few instruments to encourage preventive care and improve quality of life.

On the other hand, one cannot deny the damage to self-esteem that the repetitive visualization of sculptural bodies can cause in a pre-adolescent, devalued in the face of so much sexual exuberance from others. Or the harm to those who are compulsive and become hostage to networks. Even worse are the early onsets of children. However, banning pornography is not a solution, not least because there is no way. She makes use of all forms of communication and the appeal that sex has on a significant portion of the population.

Instead of banning it, the idea is to use pornography as an instrument, taking advantage of its receptivity to disseminate information about health and promote sex education. The principle is the same as for vaccines: the virus that kills can save.