The Negative Effects Of Media And Porn
Just like the physical body needs nutrients from food every day, the brain needs information every day. And with food, one can choose to eat junk food or organic unprocessed food. One causes inflammation and illnesses, while the other promotes vitality and health.
And the same goes for information. This information can be in the shape of images, words, sounds, and situations and you can consume information that is beneficial or harmful to you. We consume more information than ever thanks to the evolution of technology. And this information gets to us through all sorts of media, such as movies, series, advertising, music, books, newspapers, magazines, video games, social media, and yes, also porn.
Why Is Media Negative?
The problem with all the media that we are consuming, is that for our brain there is no difference between real and fake. If you’re watching a sad movie, you are experiencing real emotions for a fake situation. And if the protagonist dies, the actor is still alive, but to your brain, this character really died.
In addition, we have so-called mirror neurons in our brains that are activated when we observe someone doing something. This helps us to learn by observing. No matter what fake behavior and situations you observe, your brain regards everything as real.
And for the brain information is very important, because in order to survive, it seeks information about how people and the world function so it can increase its survival chances. Because humans are social beings, being socially accepted and behaving accordingly is part of increasing survival chances.
So for instance, when watching a soap series, the brain gets an influx of drama and how these characters interact to create this drama.
When watching the news daily, the brain gets bombarded with fear-inducing information about how bad the world is. Fear is a very powerful negative emotion that keeps the frequency low. (Not to mention how manipulated the presentation of information often is by these organizations.)
When watching a war movie that romanticizes war (and many war movies do that), one will receive input about the greatness of war and violence. While oftentimes war is a conflict between old men for which young men are sent to die. And they are told it is an honor to do so.
If you ever stopped watching movies and series for a long time, and you start watching one, you will often realize how the choices of the characters make no sense other than that it creates drama or extra difficulty in reaching their goals.
And have you noticed for a lot of modern series and movie productions where there is a romance blooming between the man and woman, that the woman is often assertive in the relationship and the man passive? But I digress...
Consuming large quantities of media conditions the mind. It conditions the mind in how to think, how to feel, how to behave, and how to interact with the world. It shapes the perception of reality, and the perception of reality is what shapes the personal reality. And thus it controls how you manifest your life.
However, not all media should be regarded as negative. Just as being aware of the food you choose to eat, being aware of the media you consume helps to choose to consume media that supports the life you want to manifest.
If you want to destroy any nation without war, make adultery or nudity common in the young generation. ~ Saladin
The Problem With Porn
Porn is a very particular and powerful type of media. We just discussed how bad negative media can be, especially since the brain regards fiction as reality, and by the use of mirror neurons it observes human behavior. The same applies to porn.
However, porn is much, much worse as it has deep psychological, physical, and spiritual effects.
The reason people watch porn is to get a release. So apart from watching it, of which we already discussed what that can mean to the brain, the images that are watched are paired with strong pleasurable physical sensations. A physical release that is paired with the release of happiness hormones such as dopamine.
Dopamine is the reward hormone, it makes you feel good for accomplishing a task. It is to motivate good behavior and turn it into a habit. However, with the rise of social media and porn, one can bypass the hard work and get dopamine released instantly. The instant gratification that is possible in our society, can make one lazy and not willing to put in the work to accomplish something worthwhile. Furthermore, it can deplete the dopamine provisioning, causing difficulty with feeling happy, being motivated, and being productive.
The strong physical sensation while watching pornographic images rewires the brain in several ways and that can cause problems when having sex with a partner. However, these problems are not always clearly experienced.
Every experience is valuable to the brain. So watching porn is rewiring the brain in what it means to have sex. If one considers having sex to be watching other people doing it, then one has tons of online options.
If you would rather have the skill and ability to make passionate love, be intimately connected with your partner, control when you get to the climax and how to get there, enjoy it deeply, and give your partner the best night, then you should start conditioning your brain and body differently.
The Negative Effects Of Porn
The following is a list of well-known researched side effects of watching porn. Porn can cause:
- sexual problems: e.g. decreased satisfaction, erectile dysfunction, etc
- shame and guilt (keeps you low in frequency)
- escalation of content: e.g. unintentionally introduced to increasingly perverting content
- relationship problems: e.g. decreased intimacy
- structural brain changes around reward and motivation
- decreased self-esteem
- addiction
- distorted expectations of yourself and your partner
- objectification
- mental health issues
- reduced empathy
- time and productivity loss
- financial problems
What Makes Porn Addictive?
One aspect of porn is that it is addictive. Which makes sense, as it engages with the most primal aspect of the brain that gets stimulated the moment it sees some nudity, it engages with the sexual energy, and it releases happy hormones such as dopamine.
But what makes it extra addictive, is the taboo on it. The fact that it is something ‘secret’, in combination with the release of the hormones, multiplies the effect.
This effect can be even stronger, when the viewer goes down the slippery slope of watching escalating pornographic content. That is content one was not looking for, but came across it on the site, and it can be both shocking and arousing. Increasing the charge on the taboo of watching porn and making it more addictive as well as immunizing being aroused by 'normal' content.
Your Sexual Energy Is Your Power
Sexual energy is incredibly potent, and if harnessed and cultivated correctly, it is a pure innocent powerful playful energy that can be used to create a great life and procreate with your wife ;) It is therefore perhaps no coincidence that this powerful energy is subverted and siphoned by the use of sex in movies, series, video games, advertisements, and of course, porn.
Sex is the ultimate union between two partners. It is highly energetic and spiritual. To truly connect with your partner, to mesh into being one, to feel each other on such a primal and spiritual level, to join and enjoy together being in ecstasy. It is sacred, beautiful, enriching, and nourishing.
Porn and the use of sex and the promotion of casual sex in the media, attack this sacred union by making it out of reach of achieving it. One cannot crave for something one does not know exists, especially if the craving is already satisfied superficially. It's like satisfying your hunger with chips on the couch watching television, while instead, you could have gotten a 5 Michelin-star meal at a romantic secluded restaurant outside in Italy on a summer evening, a full moon and a violin player playing around the corner.
How To Overcome Porn Addiction?
So when is one addicted? In regard to porn, as long as one has not decided to never watch it again, one could say there is an addiction, a dependency, to watching it.
Porn is often used as a way to release stress and uplift the mood. So start working on creating a life with connection and practice habits that promote the release of happiness hormones. Go to the gym, go to the sauna, go for a walk, cuddle with your pet, spend time with your loved ones, manage your stress levels, find a romantic partner if you don’t have one already. Start building a life that makes you happy and nourishes you on a deep level.
What would the world look like if all men were connected with their heart, their light and dark masculine, their emotions, and their mission which they would pursue with fierceness and fervor to protect and provide for their loved ones?
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