Porn is no longer a hush hush word amongst teenagers and youth. There are rampant sharing and consumption of pornographic content. Some view it as sexually empowering, liberating while some view it as their dirty little secret. For most of the youth, porn is the go-to place for a sexual release. However, things can get out of control when moderate consumption grows into a full-blown addiction.
[If you are unable to control your habit of watching porn, you might be having an addiction. There is nothing to be ashamed of porn addiction. However, you need to get help to come out of addiction. We can give you counselling. Talk to us immediately by clicking on the Whatsapp chat button: 
]
Telegram: privacy assured or privacy misused?
Technology is always going up a notch higher. When Telegram was introduced, many breathed a sigh of relief that their privacy will not be compromised. Till then people had limited options for safe messaging. Often you would find cases where messages and photos were compromised due to the insecure nature of the messaging platforms. Thus when Telegram was introduced, it was the ultimate tool for the niche crowd who were aware of data protection and privacy issues. However, the niche crowd is no longer niche, and Telegram now is immensely popular in the larger population. What is worrisome is the existence of numerous channels in Telegram which people use to share porn.
Sharing of porn through Telegram is a violation of the Terms of Services (ToS) laid out by the company. Irrespective of the existence of such ToS, people continue to use Telegram exclusively for the purpose of sharing porn! Numerous channels even have disturbing content and there are no heavy moderators to flag the posts or the channel member! In a recent crackdown, the Kerala police arrested 41 people, including IT professionals, for propagating, viewing, distributing and storing child pornography. The Cyberdome assisted operation under the Kerala Police, noted that platforms like Whatsapp, Telegram and Instagram were used to share child porn.
India: land of Kamasutra and highest porn consumers?
India is one of the largest consumers of pornography. In the annual statistics report published by the Pornhub, India stood in the third position in 2018. However, in the 2019 report, India does not even figure in the top 10 countries. India’s position is at 15. However, this drop in position has little to do with people exercising self-restraint and a lot to do with the Indian government blocking several porn websites in the country. But people always have a way to circumvent the law after all! Reports say that the overall consumption of internet porn has increased during the porn ban in India, with traffic shifting to other sites and the use of proxy servers. And during the pandemic lockdown, India was the top consumer of porn. To add to the access, organizations like Pornhub made their premium content free for everyone around the world during the pandemic.
[Stress is one of the factors that drive people to use porn as a stress buster. However, you might be in trouble if you become increasingly dependent on porn to help you cope with stress. Another key reason is loneliness. Many youngsters are using porn as a distraction from loneliness. Sooner or later, without you realizing, you can become addicted to porn. There are other ways and means to cope rather than using porn. We offer counselling services and we have helped many youngsters. Talk to us now by clicking on the Whatsapp chat button: ]
Smartphones: the convenient tool to watch porn?
India stands top when it comes to watching porn via mobile devices. According to a study reported in IANS, 89% of Indians used mobile devices to watch porn. The USA was in the second position with a figure of 81 % and Brazil at third with 79%.
According to Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson, India has the world’s largest data usage per smartphone at an average of 9.8 GB per month. The company is estimating that this usage will double to 18 GB by 2024.
The top ranking of porn consumption using mobile devices does not exclusively point to the possibility of porn addiction in India. There are facilitating factors such as relatively less expensive smartphones and cheaper data plans in India, in comparison to other countries.
Solutions: Legal? Ethical? Feminist?
Mainstream pornography is a multi-million dollar industry today. Just like any other business venture, money is being pumped into it to create and distribute a product viz the porn. Also, many of these ventures are well established now and legal in many countries. As long as there is consumer demand, so will there be pornography. And consumer demand will never diminish, as pornography caters to one of the basic needs of human beings viz sexual gratification.
[Sex is not all about porn, even if you are to fly solo! Sex can be affected by physical conditions as well. Numerous youngsters talk to us about feeling weak when they are having sex. We offer helpful tips and counselling such that your sex life is healthy. Click on the Whatsapp chat button and talk to us: ]
Amongst adolescents, sexual curiosity is at its peak. What can be problematic, not only for adolescents but also for adults, is the way the trajectories of sexual curiosity and sexual gratification, can take a bad turn and end up as an addiction to pornography. How much porn is okay and what kind of porn is okay are the questions which are very subjective.
Even with the so called legal organizations such as the Pornhub, the problems are aplenty. Many say porn too can be done ethically and porn is empowering especially when it is feminist porn. However, not everyone agrees and many hold the view that, porn, in whatever form it may be – ethical or feminist or something else- boils down to structural inequalities.
[Sexual fantasies are part and parcel of human existence. Have you been unsure about communicating your sexual fantasies to your partner? You need not be. Infact, it can spice up your sex life! However, the trick is to communicate with your partner with skill such that both of you don’t set off panic buttons! We can give counselling on how to communicate with your partners. Click on the Whatsapp chat button now: ]
We are living in a time where we have unprecedented access to view sexual activities using multimedia platforms. The far-reaching consequences of it, at an individual as well as community level, are still being studied. A few of them are already out and the results point to the damage it can cause to the gray matter of the brain. Perhaps decades from now on, with more extensive studies, we will have a definitive clarity on whether porn, in its multimedia tech-driven form, is good or bad for an individual as well as the community.
[If you have any other questions or doubts about porn & sexual and reproductive health; periods, pregnancy, abortion, or your sexuality, please talk to us. We will immediately help you. Talk to us by clicking on this Whatsapp chat button: ]
Connect with us on our social media pages to get updated about Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.
0 comments Add a comment