Internet pornography is called an obsession by some and an addiction by others, but many University students simply say it’s something they view occasionally without guilt.
In a random telephone survey the Emerald conducted, 40 percent of respondents said they had viewed Internet pornography. None of the 20 students surveyed had a problem with other people viewing Internet pornography, but they were careful to add that it shouldn’t be viewed when minors are involved, or at a public institution such as a library or computer lab.
“I use porn all the time,” said one student, who preferred to remain anonymous. “I just used it yesterday.”
The student said surfing the Internet for pornography is just something to do to pass the time, like watching TV.
But Substance Abuse Prevention Program administrator Miki Mace said Internet pornography can turn into an obsession for some people.
Four years ago, a University student came to her office and said he had a problem with pornography that was destroying his life.
“He was logging in several hours a day and not attending classes,” Mace said.
Mace referred him to Wendy Maltz, a nationally recognized counselor in Eugene with 25 years of experience dealing with sexual issues.
Maltz, a certified sex therapist and psychotherapist, said she’s seen an “explosion” in the number of patients who feel they are addicted to Internet pornography.
“Internet pornography has been shown in studies to be highly addictive. It’s anonymous, accessible and affordable,” she said.
She added that the Internet is so readily accessible that many students, especially males, are having their first sexual experiences with pornography instead of with another person.
While agreeing with Maltz that pornography can be harmful, Mace hesitated to label Internet pornography as an addictive substance.
“I don’t see that there’s a chemical addiction, where there’s a hunger or craving in the brain for it,” Mace said. “If I were talking about opium and Internet pornography, they’d be in completely different categories.”
The University doesn’t have a problem with students using pornography, as long as they don’t block bandwidth for other uses.
“We don’t look at the content of what students do,” ResNet manager Norm Myers said. “What they do in their own room is their business.”
Of the 40 percent of survey respondents who said they had viewed Internet pornography, half of them had viewed it in the last week. The overwhelming majority of viewers were male; only one female in the group said she viewed pornography.
Maltz said the Internet makes pornography easily accessible and seemingly harmless.
“This generation has had great exposure to Internet pornography without any precautions,” she said, likening the current permissive culture to the early days of cigarettes, before packs came with warning labels.
“People think it’s harmless, and it’s not,” Maltz said. “Pornography programs people to respond to pictures of strangers — how are these same people supposed to relate to real men and women?”
But most of the students surveyed said they thought people who aren’t in college would be more likely to use Internet pornography than college students.
People not in college might view pornography more “because of the lack of social interactions,” a student said.
But Mace said anyone who uses Internet pornography may endanger his or her relationships with others.
“It breaks us down into body parts,” Mace said. “It makes us into non-humans.”
E-mail reporter Brook Reinhard
at [email protected].