Porn- What does it Affect?

If I were to ask you what the top ten most visited websites in Kenya are do you think you could answer? Four out of the top ten are social media websites consisting of Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Another two out of the top ten are the search engines google.com and yahoo.com. Now, the shocking thing is that the 6th and 8th most viewed websites in Kenya are pornographic sites. Clearly, pornography is being consumed in this country.** 

Pornography Statistics*

Kenya Specific Stats 

1. According to a popular newspaper article, most youth who consume porn use over 3/4 of their data to stream and download it. These same youth said that they consumed most of their porn in secret away from the sight of people. 

2. Almost half of the pornography users in Kenya are women which is higher than the global average. 

3. The term “lesbian” was the second most popular searched topic with porn in Kenya. It seems that in public, the LGTBQ agenda is pushed down, but in private, it is another story.

4. The term “massage” was the fourth most popular searched topic with porn in Kenya. It seems there is a reason for all of these “massage” parlours in Nairobi.

Worldwide Stats 

1. A study of 14- to 19-year-olds found that females who consumed pornographic videos were at a significantly higher likelihood of being victims of sexual harassment or sexual assault. 

2. A 2015 meta-analysis of 22 studies from seven countries found that internationally the consumption of pornography was significantly associated with increases in verbal and physical aggression, among males and females alike.

3. 35% of all internet downloads are porn-relate.

4. Porn is a global, estimated $97 billion industry. To put that in perspective, Kenya’s national budget is just over $30 billion. 

Maybe you’re shocked by some of these stats, and perhaps you’re not. What are the effects of viewing this much pornography? Every action that we take has a consequence, whether positive or negative. So what are the implications of consuming pornography? Consuming pornography affects three important things, your brain, your heart, and your community. Let’s consider these three things below. 

Brain*

Your brain is the engine which causes your body to move forward. Your brain transmits more messages in a second than all of the phone calls performed daily in the world. What’s impressive about your brain is that God has wired your brain to go after companionship. We are not made to be alone; that is why we fall in love with one another and get married. Since your brain is made to relate to others and fall in love with others, consuming pornographic images and videos online will cause your brain to bond and commune with those things. Your brain’s desire to bond while consuming pornography is stronger than a drug addict’s brain bonds to their drugs. 

Studies have further shown that the pleasure receptors in your brain actually will diminish over time as you use pornography even though your brain is wired to seek out pleasure. So in other words, your brain needs pleasure and to achieve it, it requires will need wilder and crazier pornography to accomplish that. What happens in many cases is that people brains even get tired of what is on a screen and desire to move to the real-life thing. 

Your brain will wire itself based on the way that you train it. If you train it to find pleasure in pornography, then it will desire it more and more, which will ultimately be destructive to you. So, what are you feeding your brain? 

Heart*

It is well known that humans will suffer whenever they are deprived of touch and love. This was first learned in the 13th century when Fredrick II experimented to see which language 50 orphan babies would learn if nobody ever loved on them or talked to them. Sadly all 50 of the babies died. We need love, and we need touch to survive and thrive in this world. Consider what you do for love. You spend money on data to talk to friends and family on WhatsApp. You will travel great distances in a matatu to visit friends and family for various functions. You also can lack sleep to be with the ones that you love. Love is what the heart longs after and needs.

Sadly, a lot of us are lonely and seek out physical touch and love from others, and we are willing to get it anywhere, even from pornographic images. This is part of the reason why if you grew up in a family where there was a lack of love and physical touch, you’re statistically more prone to an addiction to masturbation and pornography. It doesn’t mean that you will automatically have these addictions; it is just that you’re more likely to have them. 

Porn has statistically shown to significantly diminish your ability to love others and show compassion to them. It makes you more critical of others appearances and less likely to physically function during sex (assuming you are married). In addition to this, married people with a spouse consuming pornography reported that their spouses were more aggressive and less able to share their lives with them. Pornography is a great way to make sure that your future will have a bad marriage and even divorce in it. 

So, pornography deeply affects who you love, how you love them, and how you will express that love. So how is your heart? What are you feeding your heart?

Community*

Since pornography affects our individual brains and hearts in such a powerful way, what does this combined effect on our community and nation? Consider the fact that 90% of Kenyans use the internet. Then combine the fact that the sixth and eighth most viewed websites are founded in pornography. We have a problem in this country. 

Consider the fact that pornography use has been showed to increase mpango wa kando in marriages by 300%. Pornography destroys marriages. Pornography has links to abusing children and human trafficking. Since pornography is connected to child abuse, human trafficking, and destruction of marriages, shouldn’t we say that pornography doesn’t just affect you, but it also affects your family, neighbours, and even your community? So, what are you sowing into your community?

Bible 

We know that pornography is harmful to your brain, heart, and our communities; however, what does it do to my relationship with God? What does the Bible say about it? It is clear that sin destroys our relationship with God; therefore, we must purify ourselves before the Lord to have a relationship with him (James 4:7-10). A relationship with God brings more joy than anything else in your life (Psalm 16:11). If anything stands in the way of that joy, such as pornography, then repent and return to your joy .(Psalm 51:10-12). 

Repentance doesn’t just mean saying sorry; repentance means showing fruit (Matthew 3:8; Luke 3:8). Bearing fruit in repentance implies that there is action together with your repentance. One suggestion I would give you is to throw away your source of pornography. If it is your nice slick, smartphone then get a cheap kabambe so you cannot look at pornography. After all, Jesus says to pluck out your eye if it causes you to sin and to cut off your hand if it causes you to sin (Matthew 5:29-30). In other words, be willing to pluck our sim card from your smartphone and cut yourself off from using it for porn. How badly do you want joy in the Lord? Repent today. 

Conclusion

If you’re struggling with pornography, please feel free to communicate with us on our Facebook messenger link attached to this page. We would love to talk with you more. Also, please continue reading our blogs as we will have more blogs on pornography in the future. 

*Stats and info from Fight the Drug.

**Stats and info from Nendo.