In today’s IT era where every hand has the reach to Internet with just a single click, we all are very much vulnerable to Pornography. Porn today is more freely and widely available on Internet than ever before. Younger generation is therefore able to access it very easily and quickly than ever. This leads to the mentality of unemotional sex. And all this is because we have grown up in a culture where parents feel embarrassed, they are not comfortable to have a healthy conversation about sex with their children. Well then it’s time to open up and come out of our comfort zone to talk about the most hush-hush topic i.e. “Pornography”.

What is Pornography?

The word pornȇ stands for prostitute, and graphein stands for documentary. Pornography literally means “Documenting a Prostitute” or “Depictions of acts of Prostitutes”. Pornography in the eyes of law is not necessarily obscene. Today, the largest industry of Internet is Adult Entertainment. There are millions of individually owned pornographic websites. Research shows that 50% of the web-sites containing potentially illegal contents relating to child abuse were ‘Pay-Per-View’. This indicates that abusive images of children over Internet have been highly commercialized.

Now that you know what Pornography mean let’s take a look at why do people watch it?

• They find sexual excitement and release enjoyable and that’s what they get from porn.
• They try to stay unreal and find their release in reel life.
• It caters to the fetishes that people have and gives them an endless selection to choose from.
• To reduce the level of stress and uncertainty of their personal life.
• Conflict between the sexual moods among couples leads to watching porn.
• To learn about sex.
• Because it is easily available and others are watching.

An expert on Sexual Addiction, found that there is a four-step progression among many who consume pornography^[1]

1. Addiction: Pornography provides a powerful sexual stimulant or aphrodisiac effect, followed by sexual release, most often through masturbation. It is addictive because it creates dependency on porn.
2. Escalation: Over time addicts require more explicit and deviant material to meet their sexual “needs.”
3. Paralyzing Effect: Sometimes referred as desensitization. What was first perceived as gross, shocking and disturbing, in time becomes common and acceptable.
4. Aggression: Porn leads to acting out sexually. There is an increasing tendency to act out behaviours viewed in pornography. People turn into imitators of what they see. No emotions are involved in the act which lead to aggression.

Legal to watch, illegal to share

Coming to the legality of Pornography, our law doesn’t prohibit us from watching pornography privately i.e., consumption of pornography is no offence. All that the law forbids is its publication, transmission, distribution or production. Let’s have a look at the law of the country related to Pornography

• Section 67 of Information Technology Act 2000
  • Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form
  • Imprisonment for three years
  • Fine of five lakh rupees
  • For subsequent conviction imprisonment for five years and also with ten lakh rupees fine.
• Section 293 of Indian Penal Code 1860
  • Sale, etc., of obscene objects to young person
  • Imprisonment for three years
  • Fine of two thousand rupees
  • For subsequent conviction imprisonment for seven years and also with five thousand

1. http://www.cyberlawsindia.net/index1.html

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