I n today's society it seems like pornography is becoming more and more 'normalized' in popular culture. From porn stars on network television shows to Internet pornography sites making billions of dollars per year, it seems like porn is being portrayed as something not only harmless but also downright positive.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Porn is not only dangerous to individuals but to society as well. The biggest effect that pornography has on society is in it's facilitation of child molestation. Pornographic material is used to instruct the innocent child victims and reduce their natural inhibitions. It has become a tool to prep children for molestation.

One in three American girls and 1 in 5 American boys will be sexually molested by the age of 18. 87% percent of convicted molesters of girls and 77% of convicted molesters of boys admit to using pornography.

Pornography can permanently affect normal sexual behavior and desires. It alters the attitudes and perceptions of those who view it. This is especially true for young boys. Most pornographic scenarios are degrading and humiliating to women. This creates a false understanding and expectation of women and sexuality. Those who view pornography are more likely to have a callous attitude toward sex and their partner. They see a woman's role to be to give into any and all requests of the man.

The use of pornography can adversely affect the justice system. Those who use pornography give lighter sentences for rape and other sexual offenses. Jury members or judges who do not use pornography are more likely to convict and give an appropriate sentence for sexually based offenses.

There is scientific research to back up the claims about pornography rewiring the brain. Pornographic images create chemically encoded messages in the brain that remain indefinitely. The arousal children experience when viewing pornography leave chemical imprints.

Pornography encourages and creates compulsive and addictive behavior. There is a basic four step process that occurs after children are first exposed to pornography. The first step is addiction. After discovering pornography, the individual will keep coming back to view the images more and more often. Then escalation occurs. The individual will need more explicit material and more deviant images to feed their need.

The third step is desensitization. Individuals who have become addicted to pornography will become used to the once shocking material. It becomes normal for them and they don't view it as being taboo or forbidden anymore.

The final step is acting out. Once an individual has become desensitized to the material, they seek to reproduce it in the real world. This often includes exhibitionism, sadistic and masochistic sex, group sex, rape or sex with minor children. The Internet is a major gateway to pornographic material and use. It is estimated that over 18 million children under the age of 18 have access to home computers. There are currently no legal means to protect children from explicit pornographic material online. Pornographers and predators are being valued over our childrens' safety.