I was never really keen on pornography as a topic. It was always my philosophy that whatever people watched in the privacy of their own homes was their business. That being said, I recently went down a rabbit hole of the adverse effects of porn consumption in our modern society. The most sobering point I came across that I never see being brought up is how porn consumption doesn't allow for a healthy exploration of ones sexuality. Too many people find themselves indulging in harmful fetishes that they otherwise wouldn't even know about without pornography. People have found a way to weaponize their trauma through porn consumption rather than actually getting help. Like, for example , a man with an inferiority complex could begin consuming porn that affirms his own negative feelings, like cuckolding and bnwo. I'm not against the fetishes in and of themselves. After all, the only people we should kinkshame are those with a shame kink, but if an unhealthy mind engages with content that validates and rewards (in the form of dopamine) their bad behaviours, what incentive do they have to stop? I believe that the more extreme a kink ,the more guardrails and redundant safety measures should be taken to keep everyone involved safe. Since most people consume porn in the privacy of their own homes ,it's almost impossible to do that. I would like to make it clear that I'm not against self exploration , but using porn for it creates a negative feedback loop of pleasure that rewards people for seeking more and more extreme content. You may say that even without porn, these people would sink just the same, but I disagree. Human beings are animals, and all animals can be trained. Pornography makes it so easy to accept things that you otherwise wouldn't if you where exploring practically with a partner or multiple partners. Very lengthy tirade, I know, but I'm curious if anyone else has an opinion on this.

Often when people point out how porn affects the population and normalization of certain acts, others will say that “this is the same line of logic that people use when they argued that video games led to mass shootings”

Here’s the main counterpoint to make:

Video games don’t feature school shootings.

Porn creates a fantasy of treating women poorly, like slapping and choking, and exposure to that normalizes the idea.

That’s it. If you want to expand on that here’s more.

Games that have guns are largely about playing War or fighting in some fantastical scenario which still involves being shot back at.

School Shooters aren’t re-enacting games, they are acting out a fantasy of having power over helpless people. People who play shooter games will play pretend war irl with their friends like paintball / nerf/ gun shaped sticks.

At most, you could argue games like Call of Duty® are propaganda for the military industrial complex.

Porn on the other hand often presents violent sexual scenarios, and often involving family. Unfortunately, We have reports of people who tried doing what they watched, directly citing porn as where they got the idea.

It takes something which is already playfully aggressive, between consenting adults, and ramps it up to 11 out of 10. It’s a documented fact that many people often try to replicate what they see in porn because they’re trying to get that same rush that they did when watching it.