In this second article in the series on pornography in Malawi, PIUS NYONDO discusses the impact of sexually explicit content on people.
Grammy-winning gospel singer Kirk Franklin, confessing in a November 30 2005 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, said he had been addicted to pornography as early as when he was eight years old.
Nothing could take him away from sexually explicit videos, Franklin said. Even after he married a woman he truly loved, he continued to watch the videos secretly.
In an attempt to break free from the habit, he drove to a dumpster in the middle of the night and threw away his porn collection. But the same night, Franklin returned to his car, drove back to the dumpster and gathered it all back up.
Digging through the trash in the middle of the night was the turning point for Franklin. It pushed him to share his struggles with his wife, and together they worked through his addiction.
Franklin’s tale is one most pornography addicts in Malawi may wish to share, but lack the courage to do so. For many in the country, porn addiction is an ugly reality they just cannot escape.
Experts say pornography is an addictive habit from which it is difficult to escape. They also say the habit sometimes exacts a huge toll on the addicts.
Pros and cons
Associate professor Chiwoza Bandawe, who teaches clinical psychology at the College of Medicine, said research has found that watching pornography has both positive and negative impact.
Bandawe cited increased sexual arousal and sexual behaviours as the positive effects of pornography.
He said higher performance anxiety and devaluing of partner attractiveness are some negative effects of watching pornography.
"The very latest research by Staley & Prause released in December 2012 indicates reports of negative emotions such as guilt and anxiety after viewing porn," said Bandawe.
He said a recent study conducted by Wright, which surveyed the use of porn in the USA between 1973 and 2010, confirmed that pornography creates a more permissive attitude towards sex.
"Pornography consumption was associated with having more positive attitudes towards teenage sex, adult premarital sex and extramarital sex. Pornographic consumption was also positively related to actually engaging in extramarital sex.
"In line with public health researchers’ concerns, pornography consumption was associated with having more sexual partners and engaging in paid sex behaviours.
"With regard to internet porn (IP), Short and colleagues find that its use has increased over the past 10 years. The effects of IP use are widespread and are both negative (e.g., relationship and interpersonal distress) and positive (e.g., increases in sexual knowledge and attitudes toward sex)," said Bandawe.
Porn exposure
A psychologist at St. John of God College of Health Sciences in Mzuzu, Ndumanene Silungwe, said pornography has negative repercussions on children, students, the working class and married people who consume it.
"Exposure to pornographic material in childhood, according to A Review of the Research on Internet Addiction by Chien and others published in 2005, forms the element of sexual abuse and children that are exposed to inappropriate sexual behaviour in childhood, including pornography, rape, defilement or incest, can develop dysfunctional behaviour such as prostitution i.e. multiple sexual relationships for both male and females in adulthood.
"As for students, addictive pornographic behaviour impairs memory and concentration (especially it interferes with short-term memory in the long run) presented as forgetfulness. It may also lead to inappropriate compulsive thoughts that may lead to abuse or defilement. It is likely to affect academic performance as time to do studies is affected," said Silungwe.
He added that for the working class, there are financial implications of engaging in addictive pornography and internet.
Citing a 1996 paper titled The Emergence of a New Clinical Disorder a paper by Kimberly Young of the University of Pittsburgh, USA, Silungwe said time may be spent watching pornography or browsing the internet which could be used for productive activities.
"When you spend all the time on the internet or accessing porn, you will not work and you are a contributor to losses in the company, and that means less income. By the time you realise it, the problem is deep health problems will have resulted from cyber addiction," he said.
According to Family Safe Media, a globally recognised media outfit that provides parental control solutions for families concerned about the profanity, promiscuity and violence in today’s media and entertainment, over 12 percent of internet pages contain pornographic content.
Against this background, Silungwe admitted that it is not easy to break the bonds of porn addiction that develop because of prolonged exposure to explicit material.
Self control
He said self-control is the starting point in avoiding the trap of addiction.
Unlike in the past, said Silungwe, when the internet was not prevalent, today people can easily access pornographic websites in the privacy of their homes.
"The best way is not to start the habit at all. Internet is the best trap to get exposed to pornography; so, before you go online, be sure of what you want to do and after doing it log off.
"You can also determine the amount of time you spend online a day. Once that time is over, log off. Self-discipline is the key in all these. If you can’t discipline yourself, you cannot get out of this problem.
"But if you are already an addict of porn, seek psychological or pastoral help to a service provider who is non-judgmental and who will keep your issue in confidence. At St John of God, one can receive psychological help from specialists," said Silungwe.
He argued that enacting tough laws on pornographic content in Malawi may not be the best solution as it could only heighten the curiosity for the material.
Instead, he proposed that the country should focus on grooming its next generation on the foundation of strong family values.
"We need a strong foundation in the home. We need parents who talk to their children openly about the dangers of the modern world. The opportunity to build a disciplined child rests primarily with family," said Silungwe.
Dr Omar Minwalla, clinical supervisor at the Sexual Recovery Institute in Los Angeles, US, said watching too much porn results in sexual addiction which is "any kind of sexual behaviour that a person continues to engage in despite negative consequences."
Minwalla said although it may appear an appealing way of dealing with problems, pornography hurts people who are hooked on it.
"It’s easy to just feel pleasure. [Addicts may think] ‘I can sit in my room and feel bad that I just got beat up and my parents don’t listen to me—or I can masturbate [while viewing pornography]. It’s a way of medicating pain and not knowing how to deal with that pain," he wrote on
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