Anantapur: Speakers want access to porn sites to be restricted

Anantapur: Speakers at the workshop on "Students curiosity on pornography sites and sex education" here on Thursday have expressed grave concern at the high school level students gaining access to smart phones and thereby to porno sites and practicing sex at the most dangerous juncture of their life and in case of girls becoming vulnerable to teen age pregnancies and even sexually transmitted diseases.

They opined that teachers have no control over their students' behaviour. Possession of mobile phones during high school stage opened floodgates to the world of pornography.

Engineering College Prof Suresh Babu observed that pornographic sex education was totally misinforming this generation and the next about what real life looks like. A study of the severity of the problem by Intellectuals Forum found that people who have seen a significant amount of porn are more likely to start having sex sooner and with more partners and to take part in riskier kinds of sex, putting them at greater chances of getting sexually transmitted infections. Boys, who start watching porn from their teenage years, get bored quickly and start watching child porn or videos with violent content.

The Intellectuals Forum study findings were too startling and seemingly improbable. The survey report says 70 per cent of students, who were surveyed had watched porn from the age of 10 years. Besides, 31 per cent of boys watched violent porn content and 93 per cent of boys admitted that watching porn does lead to sexual activities.

The finding that watching porn leads to sexual activities in 86 per cent of boys also seems far-fetched. Porn addiction is becoming a huge problem among young and middle-aged men. Children are exposed to so much sex and violence on mainstream TV, so it would be hypocritical to blame porn.

Students, who did not go to bed emerged to consume online pornography. Such behaviours can have negative impacts on studies education outcomes as well as wider social and moral impacts for students and the society. In this digital era, technology has invaded every aspect of our lives, with increasing access to the internet. Therefore, it is imperative to provide specifically designed pornography addiction education programs to educate students about the adverse effects of pornography.

The speakers felt furthermore, targeted treatment programmes for sexual addiction, sexual abuse and pornography abuse are needed to support the individuals who are addicted to pornography. The internet consolidates itself as a potent platform and an integral part of modern society. By increasing access to information and communication technologies (ICTs), the internet has become the universal source of information for millions of people, in their homes, at work, at school or universities, creating the world without borders. Mobile technologies such as smartphones have increased the reach of internet, thereby increasing the number of internet users. The advancements in technology and the expansion of internet have both positively and negatively contributed to the society. Porn is full of ideas and beliefs that are completely opposite of what real relationships, real sex, and real love are like, the speakers felt.

"Healthy relationships are built on equality, honesty, respect and love. But in porn, it's the reverse; interactions are based on domination, disrespect, violence, and detachment. A sweet, tender connection doesn't sell in porn, but degradation and abuse do. We think that's pretty messed up, and it's incredibly unhelpful for those of us who want to know more about sex in real life," Prof Suresh maintained.