Common For A Porn Addicted Geek example essay topic

Geeks & Pr 0 n: A study of the culture behind the underground realm of cyber pornography. The spawning of the public Internet as we know it today provided a brand new type of communication, virtually unrestricted, and naturally, as with nearly every other form of communication, has been exploited by pornography. This newly-invented category of pornography, to be called "cyberporn", would not only revolutionize its own industry, but also help to speed the development and growth of the Internet. Feeding off of each other, technology and pornography have played an equally transforming role in our current methods of communication.

It is important to note that in the past, communication technologies that were prevented from being used as a means of sexual communication were vastly subject to failure. For example, it is highly arguable that one of the main reasons for the victory of VHS tapes over the Beta format is that Beta refused to let pornography occupy their tapes. Similarly, many people attribute AOL's victory over Prodigy to the fact that Prodigy refused to allow sexual content (Pornography and Technology). Pornography and technology are so tightly woven together that it would appear that neither can exist without the other, at least not in their current forms. Partly due to their interest in technology, it is no surprise that geeks, especially geeks of the male gender, are common consumers of the cyberporn industry. The industry is estimated to be the highest grossing sector on the Internet (Pornography and Technology), and for many geeks who spend a significant amount of time "on the web", it is difficult to avoid.

This paper is meant to address the culture of these geeks, and will attempt to portray to the reader the hidden lifestyle of a geek porn-addict. This paper will not discuss the moral concerns of pornography, because though they exist, this portrayal is meant to be factual and not opinionated, and one cannot discuss morals without opinions. That said, this paper will address pornography as an addiction, and therefore a problem, when taken to certain extremities. Where these boundaries lie, however, will not be discussed; this will be left up to the reader to define. It is difficult to define a porn-addict without laying down boundaries that have been previously forbidden, so this paper will use the simple definition of "one who views pornography on a regular basis, and either suffers from or regrets his or her actions". Almost all addictions can be defined this way, as suffering and / or regret are side-effects that are not desirable, presumably caused by the addiction, which, when defined negatively, cannot exist without negative side effects.

Therefore, the definition suffices without arguing for a specific point in which the viewing of pornography becomes an addiction. It is critical to note, however, that the suffering or regret of a porn-addict is often overlooked by the porn-addict himself (or herself), and numerous attempts to hide the negative emotions are often made. As evident in many online blogs and forums, geeks who happen to be porn-addicts often seek comfort in a community of geeks with the same problem. In such a community, though not necessarily denying his or her addiction, one can justify his or her actions based on the acceptance of others and the sense of being "the same". Other means of justification include the belief that one truly cannot stop, that pornography is a physical need, and even views as ridiculous as "my addiction is a boost to the economy".

This is not to say that pornography is wrong, as such an argument again introduces morals and opinions. However, if an addiction to pornography is agreed upon to be a problem, then geek porn-addicts who attempt to justify their addiction are lying to themselves. There are many geeks who fall under this category, which is likely to consume the majority of geek porn-addicts, due to the fact that it is much easier to deny than to change. Many porn-addicted geeks who are in denial of their problem spend significant, often vast amounts of time browsing and communicating through forums that exist solely as a means of trading and discussing porn. These forums vary in content from hardcore porn to clothed celebrities, which most would not even consider to be porn. These "soft-core" forums, however, are an addiction for many geeks, and therefore fall into much the same category as the hardcore porn forums.

The forum communities that occupy these forums praise each other for introducing new porn to the forum, so new postings are common and frequent, especially from geeks who fail to get praise in other places. This can lead to great pride for those who post, as they feel they are doing the community a favor, and there is often competition among posters for the most and the "best quality" porn, leading to greater pride in being "the best". For these community members, admitting their addiction as a problem can be a personal attack against themselves, and a huge loss of pride, especially if the addiction has become so bad that it consumes all of their time, and therefore hosts all of their pride. For these geeks, ridding themselves of their addiction (whether they realize they are addicted or not) is completely undesirable and would put a damper on what they believe to be their "identity", and the "love" they receive from the community. This is another reason why so many porn-addicted geeks find it so difficult to stop, because they feel it is part of "who they are", and it is a sense of fake pride and respect.

Despite the commonality of those in denial, there is also a significant number of porn-addicted geeks who realize their problem, and truly want to change. Many things can help geeks come to this realization, among them are religious views, a desire for self control, or the realization that their addiction is deteriorating another aspect of their life. Coming to this realization does not immediately provoke change, however, as an addiction, by definition, is not easily broken. In fact, it is common for a porn-addicted geek to remain a porn-addict indefinitely, despite the fact that he or she realizes that the problem exists. There is hope for these porn-addicted geeks who truly want to change, however, in sites such as web which despite its provocative name (it is used as a means of attracting porn-addicts), was created to help free porn-addicted geeks from their addiction (Rosario, 2002).

The site ironically advertises itself as "The #1 Christian Porn Site", and strives with all of its might to attract porn-addicts and help relieve them of their addiction. The site's self-declared mission is to "bring awareness, openness, accountability, and recovery to the church, society, and individuals in the issues of pornography and to provide solutions through non-judgmental and creative means". The site is also quick to state that it "is not here to bash pornographers or the adult entertainment industry, but to build bridges to this industry because (the adult entertainment industry is) part of the solution. (They) are not here to judge those who are struggling with this problem, but to help people navigate through an ever changing society and to help the church deal with these issues". The site encourages a bold approach to the solution, one that claims everyone struggles with pornography to a certain degree, and uses the terms "us" and "we" instead of "you" when addressing pornography addicts. This revolutionary way of helping porn-addicts is having tremendous success; the site receives more than 70,000 unique visitors every week, and is running strong.

There are more than moral and personal concerns to pornography, however. The legality behind pornography, more specifically, behind cyberporn, is complicated and difficult to manage. Much like computer software, it is near impossible to prevent the illegal distribution of cyberporn, and since the Internet is distributed across many countries, no one country can set the laws for all of the Internet to follow. An even greater concern, however, is how to monitor and enforce these laws. There are many underage geeks who are addicted to porn and view porn every day, but they will never "get caught" because no one can identify them when they are on the Internet.

Another legal concern with cyberporn is the content of the pornography itself. Underage pornography, though vastly immoral, is not illegal in all countries and therefore, again, is very difficult to monitor. The Internet has always been a haven for criminals and broken laws because of its vast nature and extreme flexibility, which change before the laws can be enforced. Geeks often see this "unexplored territory" as freedom from a particular country, freedom from that country's laws, and thus freedom to say, do, and participate in whatever he or she chooses. This has led to a higher disregard for the government among geeks, for the government's laws, and a greater overall sense of rebellion. Cyberporn and the Internet have the government scared; suddenly there is a vast world which seemingly cannot be governed, and it is truly running amuck.

Many geeks see this as an advantage, and have learned to protect themselves from the fray. Much of the "free" nature of the Internet is due to cyberporn, which often challenges the laws to the point where they cannot be enforced, and thus encourages other areas of controversial activity, while discouraging the government. The Internet has influenced the pornography industry to the point of revolution, allowing the pornography industry to define the future of the Internet, and providing a haven, whether it be healthy or unhealthy, for geeks everywhere.

Bibliography

" Pornography and Technology". web Daniel". Church". Rediff Guide to the Net. 23 January 2002. web.