By Pat Centner, AFA Journal staff writer
June 2001 – Increasing at an alarming rate are the nauseating, heart-breaking stories of children and adults devastated as a result of the Internet’s electronically-delivered pornography (E-porn). Everyday TV anchors, newspaper reporters, and magazine writers repulse us with yet another account of a young teenage girl or boy who has been lured into sex by a pedophile “met” on the Internet.
Even more disconcerting are the sordid stories of porn vendors who rape and sodomize children as young as three years; who force boys and girls to perform sex acts with each other; and who exploit these children by photographing them and E-mailing the pictures to their porn club cronies worldwide.
Those who embrace Internet pornography say they should be able to do whatever they want in the privacy of their own homes – that porn is harmless entertainment and they have the right to obtain sexual pleasure any way they want, as long as it doesn’t harm someone.
Therein lies the problem. E-porn does harm. It harms men addicted to the point they lose their jobs, their homes, and their families. It harms wives shattered by their husbands’ betrayal and unfaithfulness, and kids who no longer respect their dad. And finally, it harms children used as an outlet for sexual debasement and, most abhorrently, for profit.
Internet facts
To fully understand the impact of Internet pornography on our world, we must first grasp the enormity of the Internet itself. According to Global Research, an estimated 391 million people worldwide have access to the Internet. The top three languages they speak are English (47.5%), Chinese (9%) and Japanese (8.6%).
The Internet’s growth has been phenomenal. For example, in January, 1996, there were 100,000 Web sites worldwide; by year-end 1999 there were 9.5 million. From April, 1997, through December, 1998 the number of Internet users grew from 100 million to 150 million. Today, Google, a large Internet “search engine,” boasts that it scans more than one billion web pages for information.
Despite the usefulness of the Internet, it has a dark side, where every ugly form of pornography and sexual perversion resides.
E-Porn
According to U.S. News & World Report (3/27/00), E-porn has played a major role in the Internet’s success from the beginning. “Raunchy pictures were the bread and butter of the Internet’s early days, and pornographers pioneered several technical wonders, from streaming video to shopping-cart software,” says author Brendan Koerner. “Today, there are at least 40,000 sex-oriented Web sites, and probably thousands more,” he adds. “Nielsen NetRatings reports that 17.5 million surfers visited porn sites from their homes in January (2000), a 40% increase compared with four months earlier.”
Websites providing free sexual content in 1997 numbered 22,000; by 2000, that number had grown to 280,300. During the same period, sites selling access to porn and porn paraphernalia grew from 230 to 1,100.
And E-porn brings in major bucks. In 1998, Web surfers spent $970 million in adult-content sites. Research cited in Datamonitor projects that by 2003 that figure could grow to $3 billion. In 1999 alone, E-porn generated nearly $1 billion.
Children abused for pleasure
Perhaps the most disturbing consequence of Internet pornography is the disastrous impact it has had on children – from the young girl who accidentally clicks onto a porn site at her local library, to the thousands of children sexually abused and exploited by perverts who form online clubs to swap pornographic images and make money from the pain of these children.
A Time magazine article (2/26/01) entitled, “Depravity Online,” tells the sickening story of a group of child pornographers who formed such an online club. Prospective members of the highly secretive “Wonderland” club were required to provide 10,000 sexually explicit images of children engaged in sex acts. After complying, new members were given access to 750,000 images that were at the bottom of seven layers of electronic security.
The pictures included young boys in leather and chains, being beaten with whips; a fair-haired toddler, still in diapers, being sexually abused; children performing sex acts on adults and on and on.
Club members swapped thousands of these images. Seven British men, among a total of 107 club members in 12 countries, were arrested recently. Incredibly, the seven were sentenced to prison terms ranging from only 12 to 30 months.
Clubs like Wonderland are operating all over the world. Sophisticated cameras make it easy to film a pornographic video. (One Wonderland member produced new videos by using his friend’s children as prey, even performing specific acts requested by those who were watching online, says Time.)
Of more than 1,260 young victims in the Wonderland archives, only 17 were identified. The constant demand for new faces means countless innocent children may soon become victims. Because of clubs like Wonderland, UNICEF estimates more than two million children worldwide are now being sexually abused.
Kids’ access to porn
There is a flip side to the coin. When it comes to children and Internet pornography, don’t kid yourself. They know that pornography is easily available, and many access it whenever the opportunity arises. Indeed, the age group that views more pornography than any other is kids ages 12 to 17. Credo magazine (9/00) cites a 1999 National Public Radio survey of 625 children ages 10-17 that found 31% of kids from households with computers, and 24% of all kids, said they had seen a pornographic Web site.
The ongoing battle
Porn accessibility via public library computers has been the subject of much debate in recent years. Numerous pro-family groups as well as parents, legislators, and librarians have gone toe to toe with the American Library Association (ALA) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on this issue.
The controversy centers around whether or not content filters should be installed on public library computers. The ALA and ACLU are opposed to filtering, in spite of numerous incidents nationwide in which minors not only viewed porn at the library, but were approached by pedophiles wanting to set up sexual liaisons with them. Now both entities have filed separate lawsuits challenging the Children’s Internet Protection Act, the new federal mandate for filtering library computers.
Ruined marriages, broken hearts
Jack replayed the scene over and over in his mind. His wife, Allison, had walked into his home office and discovered him, for the umpteenth time, mesmerized by pornography on his computer screen. He would never forget how she looked – first, crushed and disbelieving, then as cold as ice – as she calmly told him to get out.
Now, tears came as Jack recalled how many times he had promised he would never view pornography again. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t resist the temptation, regardless of the consequences.
Similar scenarios are played out in countless homes. Anick Jesdanun, Associated Press Internet Writer, says a study conducted by psychologists at Stanford and Duquesne universities found there are at least 200,000 Internet users who can be classified as “addicted” to porn as a result of their constant visits to porn sites, X-rated chat rooms, and other online sexual stimuli. “Addicts” or “cybersex compulsives” were classified as such if they spent more than 11 hours a week visiting sexually oriented Internet sites.
And don’t be fooled. There are many people of faith among the addicted – both laity and pastors.
Porn at work
Employees downloading pornography on their computers at work are becoming commonplace, according to a March, 2001, article in Information Week. And workers are telling their companies that the ability to access porn is so easy, they can’t stop. Tracy Carter Dougherty with Lockheed Martin says, “It will be interesting from a legal and human resources perspective if pornography starts to be looked on as an addiction like alcohol.”
In addition, employees viewing porn are less productive, and the potential for addiction is heightened. Sadly, Christians are not exempt. Routine examinations of employee Internet usage in one Arizona ministry revealed two young men who visited porn sites daily. They were reprimanded and told to stop the activity. They didn’t. Although they received counseling and numerous chances, both eventually had to be fired.
What to do?
There is help and hope for victims of pornography. In this country alone, there are scores of Christian
ministries, professional counselors, churches and individuals that offer expertise aimed at those addicted
to pornography. 
Pornography addiction prevention/recovery resources
Pure Life Ministries
P.O. Box 410
Dry Ridge, Ky 41035
800-635-1866
www.purelifeministries.org
Ministry is dedicated to breaking the power of sexual addiction through the truth of God's word and the power of Jesus Christ.
Stone Gate Resources
11509 Palmer Divide Road
Larkspur, CO 80118
www.stonegateresources.com
Ministry of personal restoration for fallen Christian leaders. Provides counseling, guidance, and consultation to the pastor, spouse, church, and denomination. Seminar topics include understanding moral failure, understanding sexual addiction, surviving the internet/cybersex.
