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Pornography may prove just as dangerous any other drug.

Sexuality is a great and beautiful thing. Sex within marriage brings spouses closer together, gives families children and relieves stress. But sexuality can also cause lust. This lust can cause unwanted pregnancy or even a developed addiction to things such as porn. Pornography harms people, their relationships with others and society itself.

Pornography harms individuals by physically changing the brain. As with other addictive substance, the brain floods with dopamine to the stimulation. After these dopamine rushes happen over and over, some of the dopamine receptors disappear making more porn necessary for the same feeling. The need for more stimulation is the basis of addiction. Without as many receptors to detect dopamine, the hormone that produces pleasure and enjoyment, even non-sexual activities can seem less entertaining as the brain can not register as much of the hormone as it used to.

Pornography addiction can cause even more problems, just as all addictions do, whether it be an addiction to drugs, the Internet or anything else. The changes porn addictions cause in the brain mirror those found from drug addictions. Addictions harm the brain’s limit setting section, found in the frontal lobe, hindering logical problem solving and decision solving, according to Fightthenewdrug.org.

But the negative effects from pornography span far from just personal problems for the people involved- it also harms their relationships with those around them. It can cause the dehumanization and objectification of those whom the user finds themselves sexually attracted to, and harm the romantic relationship between the user and their significant other.

According to a study on National Geographic, when men are shown pictures of bikini-clad women, the part of their brain associated with ‘tools’ lights up instead of ‘social cognition’. According to CNN, when men see images like these and then see women in a social situation, they are more likely to have sexual thoughts about the woman, to remember her physical appearance and to sit closer to her. In summary, if men tend to see women both in bathing suits and well dressed as “tools” after seeing just images of women in bikinis, surely porn has an even worse effect on the brain.

Sexual attraction should not be the basis of general attraction, but porn teaches people that to be desirable, they must be sexually appealing first and foremost. Pornography is more than a pastime. It can quickly become an addiction and leads to the objectification of people by the users of porn. It does not accurately portray sex or relationships, and distorts the meaning of healthy relationships.

Those who support the use of porn argue the actors seem to be enjoying it and that they might as well take advantage of the available footage online. However, pornography is not harmless. The societal issues caused by porn are just as bad, if not worse than any other issue brought on by porn. The pornography business is immersed in drugs, sexually transmitted diseases, human trafficking and rape. According to the book “Pornland: How the Porn Industry has Hijacked our Sexuality,” directors and prostitution pimps sometime force actors, who are often victims of human trafficking, into the practice through threats and abuse. Some prominent porn features include filming rape and then selling the videos.

Porn harms individuals, their relationships, and beyond that, society itself. People should avoid porn and seek professional help if addicted. The fight against pornography is more than just an internal fight- it’s a societal fight. Spread awareness. Fight the good fight.