How Pornography Hijacks The Male Brain: Book Analysis

A full functional analysis of Leader X’s feeling, thoughts, events and behaviors both preceding and following his use of pornography will be conducted. As well as exploring the function that pornography is playing in his life. By doing this I will be able to determine what is causing Leader X to use pornography, for example if he is using it to escape stress or using it as a way to feel better about himself or even as a way to escape from a situation. Leader X will be taught stimulus control strategies which will involve destroying and removing all pornography he has and in addition to this he will be taught how to use imagery. By teaching Leader X imagery he will he will be equipped with a way to survive his urges to use pornography as well as learn that if he resists his urges they will subside.

However, for the purpose of this paper, sexual addiction will be defined as a dysfunctional preoccupation with sexual fantasy, often in combination with the obsessive pursuit of casual or non-intimate sex; pornography; compulsive masturbation; romantic intensity and objectifies partner sex for a period of at least six months. This issue could be described as a prescriptive issue because it is addressing whether or not sexual addiction should be considered as an official disorder that is diagnosable and treatable. It can also be described as a descriptive issue in the way that sexual addiction is not currently explicitly listed as a subcategory of addiction in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which is problematic due to the generational changes in technology that has now allowed individuals to avoid the usual social inhibitors, and as a result has created a reality where sex is more available, accessible, and anonymous than ever before, (Hall,

This article begins by discussing the varying definition and vacillating perception of the word, 'addiction'. The authors explain addiction as a disease of the brain that causes dysfunction of the brain's reward system, motivation, and memory. Consequently, it is apprised that these dysfunctions lead to problems with the characteristics of an individual's biological, psychological, spiritual, and social aspects of who they are. The article transitions by drawing parallels between the characteristics of pornography addiction and substance addiction. A noted similarity that the article refers to is that the same pathways in the brain that are triggered by drugs are also triggered by internet pornography. Furthermore, the authors found that

Pornography can physically change the brain. In the past few decades, a discovery has been found to have a better understanding of how the brain functions in what is called neuroplasticity, with “nuero” meaning the brain and “plasticity” meaning changeability (Doidge, preface). Doidge referenced this as to the brain playing a never-ending game of Tetris, always making new paths to one’s experience. Alongside the discovery of the neuroplasticity, it was found that pornography fills the brain with dopamine (Hilton, 2013, 5). Dopamine is a “chemical in your brain that affects your emotions, movements and your sensations of pleasure and pain” (Sorensen, 2015). With this dopamine chemical, it causes one’s emotions to run all over the place, and as time goes on, the more pornography one watches, the brain fights against the dopamine receptors (Watts and Hilton, 2011) and ultimately the pornography no longer seems to arouse, so one will search for more hard-core pornography to get the arousal feeling back (Angres and Bettinardi–Angres, 2008).

Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain is a book that was written by William Struthers. Struthers is a professor of psychology at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He teaches courses on the subjects of behavioral neuroscience, addictions within men, and biological bases of behavior. The student has read the book in its entirety.

Pornography is an issue that has generated serious speculation; it has grown from a state of insignificance to being a major social issue in most parts of the world. The period from early 1960’s has been labeled as the modern pornography wave. It is a period that saw major discussions in all aspects of the phenomenon from terminology, definitions, the level of sexual content, the economic impact, and most importantly its effects. This paper seeks to address the issue of pornography from the perspective of male participation, consumption, and the interrelated issues. The paper includes a review of two articles; the first article is a scholarly article from a peer reviewed journal, while the second one is a popular media

Discuss how online pornography affects the user’s brain? Why is this especially harmful to teenagers? (120 words) 6 marks

In the United States, it is widely available—pornographic websites are highly popular and get more traffic then Netflix, Twitter and Amazon combined—yet it is publicly viewed with disgust in a profound love-hate relationship. Since pornography appeared on the Internet, the accessibility, affordability, and anonymity of consuming visual sexual stimuli have increased and attracted millions of users and crossed into public health in many areas, including risk behaviors, sexual exploitation and gender roles and behavior. Yet only a few people consider pornography use as public health issues even though it can pose specific risks for its direct users and the user’s partner since pornography consumption bears resemblance with reward-seeking, novelty-seeking and addictive behavior. Like it or not (or shall I say, censored or not?), pornography has such a presence in our daily lives across the globe, yet few debates and effective policy actions have taken place to deal this dilemma due to the lingering taboo over the subject, while the nature, dynamics and impacts of pornography and its relevant sexual behaviors on society remains largely

Societal norms greatly influence our views and attitudes concerning masturbation. In American society, Psychology Today says people tend to consider masturbation “as a sexual refuge for singles” who are looking to “compensate for a lack of sex” (Castleman) and gives others the impression that one who masturbates in inferior or incapable of having sexual relations. However, Castleman’s article references a survey conducted by the University of Chicago that disputes this theory and suggests instead that “a sexless relationship [will suppress] masturbation” (Castleman). Historically, masturbation was thought to lead to serious medical side-effects; however this is not the case. As more and more doctors medically proved that masturbation

There is very little scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of biological treatments for pornography addiction. Though several related studies have been conducted, the focus of these studies was not specifically on pornography addiction, but sexual addiction in general. Additionally, they lacked validity as they were either case studies or small-scale studies, involving less than 30 participants. Conducting a large-scale study may not be feasible at this point of time, as not many people with pornography addiction are willing to seek medical advice, let alone participate in research studies.

Many people would agree that if pornagraphy was negatively effecting people we need to look into it more and administer more research. What many people don’t realize is that porn has already been proven to poorly affect people who view it in multiple ways. Neuroscientists are looking at research that is comparing porn to a drug in the sense that it is an extremely addictive substance. Along with that there are studies that are showing, much like drugs, people who view porn develop a tolerance to it and they begin wanting content that is more perverse, and more abnormal. (frc.org) Some people are referring to porn as “the new drug.” This may not be seen as a problem because for these reasons it is not intruding upon other people’s moral rights. This may be true to a point, but I think the effects of pornography speak for themselves.

One can hardly believe it, but “90% of young boys and 60% of young girls have been exposed to pornography before the age of 18” (Watson, 2014, para.1). Viewing pornography at such a young age when the mind is still developing can lead to long-lasting impacts on the brain (How Exposure to Pornography Affect Children, 2015, para.18). The issue is not necessarily whether pornography is right or wrong, it is about what viewing it will do to consumers’ brains and the way they view and interact with the world. Some people have been exposed to porn and were able to walk away and never go back; however, not all are so fortunate. It is important to point out that both women and men view pornography. It can turn into an addiction, and no matter what

People are watching pornography without considering its consequences. Though it may seem a better and easy way of securing sexual pleasure, it is addictive and can result to masturbation as the individual is forced to release the accompanied sexual pleasure. As explained by Schneider, Frank, Jamie and Coutts, pornography is addictive and can result to sexual dysfunctional. By watching pornography, the individual obtains sexual stimuli forcing him or her to masturbation which provides a sexual satisfaction that a normal human being cannot provide. Once such people get married, they never get aroused easily by their spouse making them go back to porn and masturbation for full satisfaction (Jenkins, pg. 3). As a result, pornography has caused violence in marriages as the addicted partner cannot be sexually satisfied. This paper contains a discussion of the pornography together with the various possible effects.

The risk of using pornography is truly dangerous. It is hurtful and unsafe. It alters those who generate it and those who uses it. It is a display of insult for both men and women; a great danger for children and it should be stop. Pornography in general degrades behavioral aspect of well-being; fighting this problem needs effort in many areas. For some people it is almost impossible to quit pornography especially if it is in addiction level. However, one of the benefits of overcoming pornography is the capability to be entirely committed to another person in a loving way; enjoyment of a true loving sex and true happiness.

Porn is a constant problem for a numerous amount of people because they become addicted to having the sexual desire of intimacy with another person. It causes individuals to take time out of their day to watch mature scenes of other people having different kinds of sexual intercourse depending on the person’s wide variety of options to choose from. Studies show that porn actually rewires the brain to form a deeply focused attention on the subject instead of other activities that could be done. “Porn happens to be fantastic at forming new, long-lasting pathways in the brain. In fact, porn is such a ferocious competitor that hardly any other activity can