Negatives Of Porn

Pornography has taken a firm hold on the world and it’s control only grows everyday. Porn is a common sin that many fall victim to due to a lack of self-control and guidance. Catholic Social Teachings even address the topic of porn to guide the modern human to maintain dignity and common good throughout society. The use of pornography negatively impacts the modern human by preying on their weakness and dragging them into a cycle of sin. In order to overcome the addiction of pornography, one must want change and take active steps to regain the virtue of chastity.

Porn started out as printed magazines, but in 2018 it has evolved to free online usage and has become easy to access. From a secular standpoint, pornography is visual stimulation regarded

One of the greatest things affected by pornography is a human’s relationships with others. Those who are active users of porn isolate themselves from their spouse. They form a wall between what is meant to be a happy union as the user looks outside of the marriage for pleasure. The spouse themselves feel the isolation and lack of intimacy from their partner. As Bought with a Price points out: “how much more so is it a sin against the human dignity of the one who was promised the exclusivity of affection?” (30). The marriage couple vowed commitment to each other, and instead the user is seeking pleasure outside of their spouse. In a way, the user is rejecting their spouse and indirectly stating how their spouse is not enough for them. Porn also affects the view themselves. The point of porn is to maintain pleasure through a purely sexual act. This contradicts the purpose of pleasure and sexuality, which is meant to be experienced with your spouse. Therefore, the use of porn “damages the very human qualities that make intimacy possible” (32, Bought with a Price). Intimacy and sexuality is eroded in the viewer as they view sexual acts as just a means to an end. It is no longer about forming a trusting bond with another person, but a meaningless couple minutes that result in a more empty feeling than before. All sense of intimacy is lost in the viewer, and they selfishly focus on getting pleasure.

Chastity is defined as the self-restraint when it comes to sexual activities in order to preserve oneself for marriage. Chastity is a choice to wait and is a “spiritual power that frees love from selfishness and aggression” (16, The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality). A person decides to wait for their spouse and by doing so they have a pure love for those around them. They do not act on their desires for lust and lose a selfish aspect that all relationships with sexual activity are built on. The Church heavily advocates chastity, and porn is something that threatens that. So, the Catholic Church has steps that describe how to protect one’s chastity and overcome the addiction to porn. The first step is to recognize that the usage of porn is morally wrong and to have an active desire to overcome this addiction. According to Young Men Breaking Free, to start all pornography in files, downloaded videos, bookmarked websites, etc. must be destroyed. All traces of porn must be deleted from digital servers and print copies too. After the destruction of the physical embodiment of the sin, one should develop a plan to overcome this addiction which begins by going to confession. One must go to confession because “if you have allowed yourself to form a pornography habit…[you need to form