Club warns about dangers of pornography
James Swink, Cache County district attorney, told students Thursday it’s important to talk about crimes related to pornography.
Members of USU’s chapter of an anti-pornography group called Fight the New Drug asked attorney James Swink to speak at its first event, called “Fight Night.” Swink spoke about crimes connected to pornography.
He said the most serious of these crimes pertain to child pornography, Swink said.
“This includes teenagers taking pictures of themselves with cell phones and sending it to their friends,” Swink said.
In addition, Swink said porn addiction can escalate to sexual crimes, forgery, burglary, theft and other crimes.
“The line between what is porn and what is not is hazy,” said Brian Adair, a freshman studying mechanical engineering.
Members of Fight the New Drug presented statistics: 12 percent of all Internet sites are pornographic, 89 percent of which are hosted in the U.S. where pornography is a $13 billion industry.
One chapter member shared his experience of dealing porn addiction. He said he was introduced at a young age and his addiction led to depression and feelings of isolation. Talking to his mother was his first step toward confronting the issue.
“The average age of a child’s first exposure to porn is 11,” said Landon Wilcox, a freshman studying electrical engineering who was in attendance. “Parents need to tell their kids about it, and they should be aware.”
Swink used his childhood experience of boxing like Rocky to illustrate a point that children imitate what they see.
“Children who view porn tend to act out those behaviors,” he said. “This includes bestiality and sodomy.”
Not all USU students agree that pornography is a bad thing. Soren Rasmussen, a math and statistics major, said he attended the event because he wanted to hear what was said, since pornography is a taboo topic.
“Humans are highly sexual,” he said. “The question of if porn is bad, is interesting. Masturbating has been happening for a long time and it hasn’t destroyed society.”
Swink said there are a few signs of pornography use and abuse, including: at least one failed attempt to stop, rearranging schedule just to view it, sneaking around for it, spending unusual amounts of time online, often early in the morning or late at night, or quickly changing the computer screen when someone enters the room.
Shalee Cox, a member of Fight the New Drug and a junior majoring in health education, said she participates in the group because she feels it is important to spread awareness and educate people.
She said another reason she’s active is because of the struggles and negative effects it’s had on her family.
“If you feel like you’re struggling, you can get help,” Cox said. “I want to help other families who have been affected as well.”
Merial Hutchison, an undeclared sophomore, said she attended the event because she was hoping to hear pornography addiction explained on a non-religious level.
“A lot of people think it’s just a Mormon issue,” she said.
However, the “Mormon issue” might explain why pornography has such a high subscription rate in Utah, according to Swink, who said porn is addictive because it causes emotions that release the nuerotransmitter dopamine at a much higher quantity than other everyday events.
The brain, especially in times of stress, then reminds individuals of ways to receive those high levels of dopamine, he added. One of the emotions that causes this feeling is guilt, so when an individual viewing porn feels guilty or ashamed, their brain release more dopamine, increasing the likelihood of addiction.
Swink said in Utah this guilt or shame could be triggered by the LDS church’s stance — a common Christian view — on pornography.
Swink warned students that pornography use can lead to sexual dissatisfaction and make partners unattractive to each other. In addition, it can cause marital problems and break up families.
“The goal in our home is for our children to leave our home without serious addictions, like pornography,” Swink said.
Students interested in learning more about the club can go to its website fightthenewdrug.org.
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AT FIGHT THE NEW DRUG’S first meeting, group members discussed some of the statistics of pornography use. They taught audience members that pornography can quickly cause an imbalance of chemicals in the brain, which makes it a legitimate addiction. The average child first views pornography at age 11. There are 1.5 billion downloads of pornographic material in the U.S. every month. People in Utah look at more pornography than any other state in the country. DELAYNE LOCKE photo