By Jacob Strangis |Staff Writer|
Utah is attempting to put a ban on pornography.
The governor of Utah, Gary Herbert, has recently signed a resolution that declared pornography a “public health hazard” and an “epidemic.”
The government has brought up the fact that children may have a high risk premature exposure to pornography and potentially shift their behavior towards the concept of sex.
“If a library, or McDonald’s or anyone else was giving out cigarettes to our children, we would be picketing them,” said Sen. Todd Weiler.
“And yet, our children are accessing pornography on their tablets on these sites and we seem to be okay with that,” added Weiler.
One of the negative effects brought up by a 2014 study in the Jama Psychiatry Journal found that males who reported using pornography more frequently have had particular regions of the brain shrink, specifically the striatum which is associated with rewards and sexual stimuli.
According to Ashley Jenkins at Rooster Teeth, other studies claimed that frequent viewing of pornography can lead to less intimacy between couples, decreased commitment and even infidelity.
“Porn gives people an unrealistic view of relationships,” said student Daniela Gomez.
“It shows men that being aggressive is okay, which is bad for both men and women,” concluded Gomez.
This idea is common among those who view porn as a negative influence on society.
But there has been no evidence to support the idea that men who view porn frequently will end up mistreating women and treat them like objects.
In fact, in a 2007 study from Queensland University of Technology in Australia, researchers found that areas with less access to pornography on the internet have experienced an increase in rape by 53 percent, whereas areas with most accessible to internet porn had a 27 percent decrease in recorded rapes.
Students were asked what their stance was on Utah’s proposal and the responses were quite unanimous.
Almost all interviewees brought up the fact that it is an individual’s decision whether or not they wish to view pornography themselves.
And that the only “health hazard” would be to those with addictive personalities and thus become addicted to porn.
“I think there is a risk for addiction, but I don’t think its a public health risk,” said student Brittany Wicker.
“The people that would be at risk are those with an addictive personality,” added Wicker.
Other students however, don’t believe there is any real risk at all.
“I think that’s pretty dumb, because everybody watches it for the most part,” said student Luciano Madrigal.
“Masturbation is all natural, and removing porn from peoples lives is just limiting their natural desires,” concluded Madrigal.
All the students that were referred were also asked if they would support that same attempt to ban porn here in California, all of whom responded a strong “no.”
In addition to that, all but one interviewee admitted that they too watch porn.
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