A Prisoner of your Seductive Nectar

You're Never Too Young to be an Addict...


Here's an abridged post from the K9 Web Protection Users Forum that I felt might be illuminating to share. The writer, a kid, entitled it "A Prisoner of your Seductive Nectar".

Parents, you are not alone in facing these kinds of frightening challenges. Kids, if your parents are showing you this, you are not alone either.

We don't have a Surgeon General's warning on porn like we do on cigarettes.

But we should.

So my Mom absolutely loves your program. She actually can keep control of me now!

So, yeah, I used to be a very avid viewer of Pornography, and I'm not embarassed about it either. 90% of all males masturbate...But I can't see the harm in visual aid, rather than imagination? I think people [complain about] sex so much in the Media. That makes the problem worse. It makes sex taboo. It makes it a forbidden fruit.

Now that Pornography has been taken away from me. I want it more than ever before.

The more people hide from sex, the more Taboo it gets.

Sex is a natural thing. People fantasize all the time. It's something you really can't get around as a human being. I don't think Pornography is going to encourage them at all. Because it's already hardwired into our heads that at this point in our lives sex is a big thing. (The hormones and what-have you).

I donno where I was going with this. Probably more of a selfish joust against my keepers. But still. Censorship isn't the way of the future. Knowledge is power. When you know about something, you gain control of it.

I look at Pornography, but I also learned all about Sex in School from Sex Ed. Just like every other kid in the US. I've seen what herpes can do. All of those delightful STD's. As do many other kids.

I don't think Pornography is going to really effect people's choices. If they want sex, I don't think Pornography really makes a difference.

Goodness I've gotten a little carried away. How many times can I rephrase the same point? (*Laughing*)

I'm curious as to your replies.

My reply:
You're right about sex. It's a natural thing. And a very powerful thing.

And pornographers know just how to manipulate your sexual attention and desire. Especially if you're a teenager, just going through that "raging hormones" thing.

There's the old saying "Sex sells." Imagine how effectively "sex sells" when it's selling sex. The pornographer is hijacking the most powerful wiring you have, driving your brain to produce chemicals that push you into a cycle of craving and satisfaction over and over again.

You say,

"Now that Pornography has been taken away from me. I want it more than ever before."

And then you say

"Knowledge is power. When you know about something, you gain control of it."

It sounds more like you've lost control than gained control. Your desire has increased. Like a junkie who needs a fix.

The knowledge you need is that the pornographers are manipulating you! And that it's possible that you have become addicted to the natural high you get from viewing it. Nature doesn't deliver the kind of intense stimulation, the kind of potent high that you get from Internet porn, from a real sexual relationship, because real sex with a real person in a real relationship takes a lot more work than just clicking and surfing and fantasizing. So you're chain is being yanked, your wires are being crossed, and the folks who are doing it aren't in it for your benefit. They're in it for the money. If they can get you hooked early, they will.

You say,

"I don't think Pornography is going to really effect people's choices. If they want sex, I don't think Pornography really makes a difference."

Can't you see that it already has? It's already twisted and pushed you and countless others into behaviors and cravings that for many have escalated beyond an occasional indulgence, beyond a hobby, into a compulsion and an obsession? Why are you still hunting for porn? Why is your craving stronger than ever? Because, perhaps, you've become addicted. Have you noticed that it's hard to get the images out of your head? That even when you don't want to think about it, you still do?

That's one of the reasons parents try to keep their kids away from porn. Sex ed is nothing like porn. Intimate relationships that include sex are nothing like porn. Porn is about whipping you up, and calling you back again and again.

K9 isn't about making sex taboo. We've just recognized how addictive pornography can be, and we want to help parents keep it away from their kids, so their kids don't become victims.

Just like the tobacco industry, the porn industry knows that its product is addictive. Just like the tobacco industry, they want to get you hooked when you're young. And just like the tobacco industry, they don't really care what it does to you. They argue that "people have the right" to this kind of material. But they won't be accountable for its addicitive nature, and the social costs associated with those addictions. Why should they be, when we as a society don't demand it?

Kids, if you follow what I'm saying, and you think it might have some truth, and you want help to get "un-addicted", there are resources out there that can make a difference. It's never too late to try to overcome an addiction. Do some research. If you think you might be addicted, ask for help.

And parents, don't ignore the problem. You wouldn't just ignore it if your kid (or your neighbor's kid) was hooked on cocaine, speed, or heroin, right? This kid's on to something when he talks about sex being "taboo" -- sex and pornography as a topic for discussion among neighbors certainly is taboo. But we all owe it to our community's mental health to help raise awareness, even if it's a little uncomfortable.

Step out and get involved.