Porn leads to aggressive behavior

The industry has become more mainstream throughout the last decade, especially for college students. It is everywhere - and as evidenced by the 9,740,000 search results yielded by a Google search for college porn, college students are both a primary target and consumer.

But what are the effects of prolonged viewing of pornography? Is it more than just a fantasy? The answer to both of these questions is yes and experts said they believe continued viewing of porn can lead to a dangerous sexual lifestyle and unhealthy beliefs.

Mary Anne Layden, co-director of the Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology Program at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Cognitive Therapy, said pornography is extremely harmful to those who consume it on a regular basis. Layden said there is a correlation between viewing porn and sexual behavior among individuals.

Pornography leads to permission-giving beliefs, she said. These are beliefs that claim the action the person is doing is normal, does not hurt anyone and that everyone is doing them. With permission-giving beliefs the individual does not think they need to change their behavior, Layden said.

Some examples of these permission-giving beliefs are that sex is a consumer commodity that can be bought, sold or stolen at anytime; sex is a male entitlement; male sexuality is viciously narcissistic, predatory and out of control; women enjoy degrading sex and women's bodies are just sexual entertainment for men. College students who continue to watch porn can adapt these beliefs, which led to developing a pattern of unhealthy sexual relationships and dangerous sexual behavior.

According to findings published in the Journal of Research in Personality, 60 percent of males said that there was some likelihood that if they thought they could not get caught, they would be willing to force a women to do something she did not want to do and/or rape her. This is one of the many beliefs about sex that Layden said she attributes to prolonged porn exposure.

Porn can also lead to a miseducation about sex.

With continued viewing, Layden said people start to think sex is recreation; sex isn't about intimacy, love, caring or respect and sex with strangers is the best and most intense kind of sex.

Craig Gross, a pastor and creator of XXXchurch.com - a Web site devoted to helping people who struggle with porn, said porn is largely an issue among college students because it is so mainstream.

"It keeps you away from real relationships. It's oftentimes a fantasy," Gross said. "Sex doesn't look the same way you see it in porn and often people are disappointed with real sexual relationships."

Gross said he believes porn is an issue among college students because they are one of the largest demographics of consumers and can access it the easiest.

Is porn degrading or empowering to women? Read part two of "The Hard Truth: Deep Inside Porn" Tuesday.

Gerrick Lewis can be reached at lewis.1030@osu.edu.