Apa Body Paragraph

Running head: PORNOGRAPY; RELATIONS TO FREE SPEECH AND MORALITY 1
Pornography in the 21st Century and its Relation to Free Speech and Morality
Colin Fogarty
First Colonial High School

PORNOGRAPY; RELATIONS TO FREE SPEECH AND MORALITY 2
Research Thesis: In the United States’ increasingly culturally democratic society, balancing free
speech and social morality regarding pornography has become a serious issue for the public.
Body Paragraph:
By far, one of the most pressing issues facing the cultural environment is adolescents
accessing pornography. In a 2007 issue of Pediatrics, researchers Janis Wolak and Kimberly
Mitchell found that out of children aged 10-17, 42 percent had seen online pornography in that
last year; however, two-thirds had reported the exposure was unwanted (DeAngelis, 2007).
While the fact that teens will encounter pornography is uncontested, many still debate whether
its effects are positive or negative. In a 1994 book, Jennings Bryant and Steven Carl Rockwell
found that opinions towards premarital sex became more open in nature after 13 and 14-year
old’s had consumed media depicting that act (Greenfield, 2004). Furthermore, studies show
consumption of pornography can lead to a multitude of harms: early sexual experimentation,
sexual preoccupation, sexual aggression (when violent pornography was consumed), less social
integration, depressive symptoms, loss of self-confidence, and less social development; in cases
of girls, it was found that consumers felt that their bodies were inferior to women depicted and in
cases of boys, consumers felt that they might not be able to perform as well as the men shown.
(Owens, Behun, Manning, & Reid, 2012). However, proponents argue that consuming online
pornography can offer a chance to teenagers to grow, learn about sex, explore sexuality, and gain
an overall sexual education, (Owens, Behun, Manning, & Reid, 2012). While it appears that the
negatives of watching Internet porn far outweigh any positives, it is important to note that Owens
et. al. research was focused around high consumption rates, which may not be representative of
effects from casual viewership by adolescents.

References
Cantor, J., Mares, M., & Hyde, J. S. (2003). Autobiographical Memories of Exposure to Sexual Media
Content. Media Psychology, 1-31. Retrieved December 7, 2017, from
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marie-
louise_Mares/publication/233048930_Autobiographical_Memories_of_Exposure_to_Sexual_Me
dia_Content/links/55e99f0508ae65b6389b0476.pdf.
DeAngelis, T. (2007, November). Web pornography's effect on children. Retrieved December 7, 2017,
from http://www.apa.org/monitor/nov07/webporn.aspx
Greenfield, P. M. (2004). Inadvertent exposure to pornography on the Internet: Implications of peer-to-
peer file-sharing networks for child development and families. Applied Developmental
Psychology, 742-750. Retrieved December 1, 2017, from
http://www.sjsu.edu/people/carol.mukhopadhyay/courses/AnthBioHS140/s6/Greenfield-article-
on-Porno-impacts.pdf
The Mormon War on Porn: Slutever [Video file]. (2017, April 12). Retrieved December 4, 2017, from
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3PnOh5l80d8
Owens, E. W., Behun, R. J., Manning, J. C., & Reid, R. C. (2012). The Impact of Internet Pornography
on Adolescents: A Review of the Research. Sexual Addition and Compulsivity, 99-122.
Retrieved December 7, 2017, from
http://psych.utoronto.ca/users/tafarodi/psy427/articles/Owens%20et%20al.%20(2012).pdf
Patterson, R., & Price, J. (2012). Pornography, religion, and the happiness gap: Does pornography
impact the actively religious differently? [Abstract]. Journal for Scientific Study of Religion,
51(1), 78-89. Retrieved December 1, 2017, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22616090
Perry, S. L. (2015). Pornography Consumption as a Threat to Religious Socialization. Sociology of
Religion, 436-458. Retrieved December 7, 2017, from
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Samuel_Perry2/publication/282964023_Pornography_Cons
umption_as_a_Threat_to_Religious_Socialization/links/56b3c7c008ae61c48058112d/Pornograp
hy-Consumption-as-a-Threat-to-Religious-Socialization.pdf.
Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union. (1999). In M. Mikula & L. M. Mabunda (Eds.), Great
American Court Cases (Vol. 1: Individual Liberties). Detroit: Gale. Retrieved December 1, 2017,
from Opposing Viewpoints in Context.
Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (Google Scholar, Dist. file).
Sable Communications of California INC. v. Federal Communications Commision et al. (June 23, 1989)
(Google Scholar, Dist. file).
Wright, P. J., & Randall, A. K. (2012). Internet pornography exposure and risky sexual behavior among
adult males in the United States. Computers in Human Behavior. Retrieved December 1, 2017,
from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/960b/959e0b4f1f27628390db12443fb7aec9dae7.pdf

Apa Body Paragraph

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Apa Body Paragraph

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Apa Body Paragraph

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Running head: PORNOGRAPY; RELATIONS TO FREE SPEECH AND MORALITY 1

First Colonial High School

consumption of pornography can lead to a multitude of harms: early sexual experimentation,

effects from casual viewership by adolescents.

Content. Media Psychology, 1-31. Retrieved December 7, 2017, from

Greenfield, P. M. (2004). Inadvertent exposure to pornography on the Internet: Implications of peer-to-

Psychology, 742-750. Retrieved December 1, 2017, from

on Adolescents: A Review of the Research. Sexual Addition and Compulsivity, 99-122.

Retrieved December 7, 2017, from

51(1), 78-89. Retrieved December 1, 2017, from

Perry, S. L. (2015). Pornography Consumption as a Threat to Religious Socialization. Sociology of

Religion, 436-458. Retrieved December 7, 2017, from

from Opposing Viewpoints in Context.

Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (Google Scholar, Dist. file).

(Google Scholar, Dist. file).

You might also like