Independent university, Bangladesh Course Title: Mass Communication Course ID: CMN 203 1|Page Discuss how availability of pornographic materials 'just a click away' on the internet can have an impact on children (4-16 years). The Internet is the decisive technology of the Information Age. It has revolutionized communications, to the extent that it is now our preferred medium of everyday communication. In almost everything we do; we use the Internet. You want to order biryani, buy a television, sharing a moment with a friend, sending a letter regarding work, no need to tire yourself out walking down to the desired destination, you can do these within 5 minutes from anywhere in the world, just a click or two is enough. It’s clear that our life has become much easier than before as a result from internet usage, but until recently there has been little recognition of the dangers that may also result from the use of such technology. There is now growing evidence that the internet is a new medium through which some commonly recognized forms of child maltreatment, sexual and emotional abuse, may be pursued. So, while internet is a blessing, it’s also a curse. Specially, when it comes to the welfare of our younger generation. Nowadays, pornography is an increasingly visible problem in our society, greatly affecting the mental state of the younger bunch of our society. With the growth of usage in-home Personal Computer (PC), Tab, Smartphone and more readily content available for access to the World Wide Web over the past decade, children are constantly being exposed & from their perspective, found themselves in a convenient venue where they can get lost in the artificial fantasy land, otherwise known as the world of pornography. A recent study revealed that nearly 57% of teenagers search out for porn at least monthly, 51% of male students and 32% of female students first viewed porn before their teenage years, 71% of teens hide online behavior from their parents. On average, the first exposure to pornography among men is 12 years old. It’s no wonder that pornography sites are among the top of internet sites. Pornography contents are virtually everywhere, even in places where it shouldn’t be. For example; kisscartoon.com is a site where people can access to watch their favorite cartoons online but, on this website, sexually arousing contents are shown as display ads and it’s just one of many examples that are happening on the internet and all they have to do is to click on it. The sexual exploitation of children via the internet has become so prevalent that it is said to have become “a serious problem” - according to End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT). In the United States, 19 percent of a nationally representative sample of 1,501 surveyed children, aged 10-17 years, who regularly use the internet, reported being approached for sex through the internet media at least once a year. One in seven of these children reported that the offender also attempted to contact them by telephone or by postal mail. An offender may wander in social media, chat rooms, gathering information until an opportunity arises to move the conversation with a child to a private chat room or to a mobile phone, and then ultimately arrange a real-life meeting. The occurrence of such danger worsens since parents’ or teachers’ warnings about the dangers of talking to strangers or agreeing to meet with them, may not be triggered in children meeting others on the internet & that answers why child pornography is at large on the internet. Whether we like it or not, the internet will always be there, and these sorts of bad influences are having a great impact on younger ones. The impact of children accessing sexual, violent and 2|Page offensive material via the internet is massive. It has been found by researchers that children who devote considerable time to using such media are at risk of developing an altered perspective on human relationships, and engaging in increased violent, aggressive behavior and increased highrisk behaviors. These impacts affect them in later stages of their life. An American author Naomi Wolf said- “The young women who talk to me on campuses about the effect of pornography on their intimate lives speak of feeling that they can never measure up, that they can never ask for what they want; and that if they do not offer what porn offers, they cannot expect to hold a guy. The young men talk about what it is like to grow up learning about sex from porn, and how it is not helpful to them in trying to figure out how to be with a real woman…For the first time in human history, the images’ power and allure have supplanted that of real naked women. Today, real naked women are just bad porn.” Children exposed to sexually violent content have been shown to have increased hostility, and display fear and anxiety responses. Using at least two films as examples, discuss how violence and drugs and alcohol are glorified in the mass media. Media influence results in either a change or reinforcement in audience or individual beliefs. It can include voting a certain way, individual views and beliefs, or skewing a person's knowledge of a specific topic due to being provided false information. As technology has become more of a commonplace, sources of mass media are accessible to almost everyone of all ages, especially teenagers, who are susceptible to subliminal influences. Particularly, the entertainment industries such as films, music, television portray drug & alcohol use as a regular party favor and implies that the side effects of these substances are short-lived. Drugs & alcohol are often portrayed as a way of socializing, there are a number of people and not just children who may see their favorite actor in a movie or a character on their favorite show use substances without consequences or in such a way as to make their character “cool” or “tough” and want to emulate those acts and behavior. In fact, many aspects of modern media depict that once one engages in alcoholism, they will merge with a high society way of life where popularity, desirability and ultimately happiness are easily attained. The messages conveyed in media on the subject of alcohol drinking retains a contradictory idea that while it is dangerous and young people should not drink if they did engage in alcoholism, they would be considered socially norm only to be admired and praised for their actions. In a society where being deviant to mainstream culture is encouraged and the “bad to the bone” mantra is a theme for popularity, drinking alcohol is considered sophisticated and trendy. Media also makes drug recovery look easier as most movies and TV shows have a limited time to tell a story and because of this, they will have the nitty-gritty aspect of the process be off-screen. Watching a character kick a destructive habit in a matter of minutes will make some subconsciously think that the path to recovery is swift and easy and one’s misperception of it leads him/her to a path where violence & self-destruction naturally follows. As of my first example, I would like to address how drug uses glorified in the movie “Pineapple Express”, named after a real cannabis strain, is considered one of the top movies about drug addiction that glamorize the uses of marijuana. Pineapple Express is about a process server and his marijuana dealer on the run from hitmen and a corrupt police officer after witnessing the death of a Chinese drug lord. Here, Dale Danton, the process server, visits his dealer to get marijuana & 3|Page then the dealer asked him to smell the product, the dealer said- “smell it, enjoy! It’s like God’s VA****! what, you wanna bathe in it?”, Dale responded- “I just want to live in here. Oh, my god! I just want to shove it up my nose and have that smell all day. That’s amazing, it’s beautiful!”. There was a scene in which dale glorified marijuana by stating- “if marijuana is not legal within the next five years, I have no faith in humanity, period. Everyone likes smoking weed. It makes everything better, makes food better, makes music better, it makes shitty movies better”. The word “Marijuana” is mentioned, maybe hundreds of times, in Pineapple Express and that makes this top drug focused movie based on mentions of marijuana alone. It is reported that statements like those in Pineapple Express influenced a countless number of people or youths to try the drug after having watched the movie. Overstatements like “I have no faith in humanity” can easily be perceived as thoughts like “what is humanity without drugs?” into the young minds. Thus, misleading him/her to a life that he/she didn’t wish for. As of my second example, I would like to address how violence takes over the life of a simple man & how the drug has a great part in it. “Breaking Bad”, it's the story of a chemistry teacher, Walter White, who discovers he has terminal lung cancer who decides to cook crystal meth in order to pay his medical bills and put something away for his family after he's gone. He teams up with a former student, Jesse Pinkman, and the two of them get off to a very rocky start in the violent world of hard drugs. There is a scene where a pair of dealer’s forces Jesse to show them to the RV where Walt and Jesse have been cooking, presumably to kill the two and take their materials. Walt poisons the two of them, but one of them survives long enough that Walt is forced to kill the meth dealer himself. From that point, he dives deeper into the world of drugs, doing things that nobody expects from a man with his lifestyle. His pride prevents him from accepting help from wealthy friends and turning instead to a life of crime. Then, one day Hank (brother-in-law), a DEA agent, figures out about his whereabouts & arrested him. On the way, hank fell victim to mob figures that are trying to get Walter free, on the process hank gets killed. When Hank is killed after arresting Walt, Skyler, believing Walt to be the killer, demands that he leave their house and threatens him with a knife and lie begets another lie, ultimately tears up his family. Breaking Bad may not glorify drugs, but the fact that more and more people are getting familiar with drugs and it does normalize the idea of meth for a broad segment of society that might otherwise have no knowledge of that dark and dangerous world. References https://www.covenanteyes.com/pornstats/ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242085433_Child_Abuse_and_the_Internet https://www.pittsburghparent.com/dangers-of-pornography-why-internet-pornography-is-badfor-teens/ https://aifs.gov.au/publications/effects-pornography-children-and-young-people-snapshot https://www.michaelshouse.com/blog/drug-addiction-as-entertainment-glorification-oreducation/ https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Glorification-of-Alcohol-Use-in-the-Media-PKJRC3WYTC https://www.luxurybeachrehab.com/in-depth/does-the-media-influence-drug-use/
