A well-known marketing truth in western culture is that sex sells. It does not matter if it is toothpaste or beer. If you appeal to the sensual nature of mankind, you will always leave an impression on the mind and memory of the recipient. If you insert sexual innuendo or suggestive sexual thoughts into the equation, people will take a more heightened notice of it. Once a suggestive sexual thought is entertained by the human mind, unless a person is diligent to take such thoughts captive in their thought life, sexual innuendo or suggestive sexual intent will take root and grow into something much more.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that pornography is keeping up with technology. It’s just that type of blight on the world. Those who produce it and/or promote it are always looking for opportunity to insert it into every life if at all possible. They know that if they can get it in front of you, that your fallen human nature will gravitate to the lowest and weakest place in your humanity and morality. Internet pornography addiction is about to get a boost with new technology for television. As in Europe where the moral decline of their culture is escalating, pornography in America is going mainstream and bringing the same result as in Europe – a desensitizing of moral conscience and an escalation of sex related crimes as a result of the proliferation of it.
It’s crazy to think that less than 40 years ago pornography was such an obscure fringe industry that only perverts, pedophiles and degenerates looked at it. Today it has so permeated our culture that now it is seen as ‘OK’ and acceptable by a vast segment of the population in the United States. Does this mean that we have a growing population of perverts, pedophiles and degenerates? Only you can decide whether or not this is true. But, I digress.
So, about the title of this article – the Internet and technology are racing so quickly towards such futuristic advances in how content is delivered that sometimes it is hard to determine if something you are reading in a magazine or online is science fiction or real life reporting. On the upside to new technology, all kinds of cool gadgets and savvy little techie things that I just love. When I here the announcements that came out of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) from this past event, and see all of the new stuff that is coming out almost daily, I get excited like a kid on Christmas morning, wondering about all the things I will be able to do with the newest and best stuff.
One announcement awhile back was that there is now a message robot that rides around your back and gives you a massage. How cool is that? For $69 that’s pretty amazing, and if it really does what they say it will, I am already feeling the pain of the whole massage therapy industry. There’s lots of 3D TV’s in development that don’t require those pesky 3D glasses (SWEEET)!
Then there is the new video you can video your children with in 3D mode and then watch it on your 3D TV. What excitement this must bring for parents of little ones. You could catch shots of their first bicycle wrecks or the first food flung across the table in 3D! Imagine the fun of it! That would be so much fun! Since my boys are all grown up, I think I will use it for surfing trips with my boys now that they are older. That will be cool to see 3D surfing video of tropical adventures and walks through jungles. I just have to get one of those thingies. I keep digressing here… back on point….
ONE bit of tech news that I have found that is rather disturbing is that Marc Bell, the CEO of FriendFinder (which owns Penthouse magazine and a bunch of porn websites), made an announcement that they’re coming out with the world’s first 3D porn channel. Them coming out with 3D porn channel wasn’t what surprised me, but what did surprise me was how the announcement was made.
The FriendFinder CEO looked like he could be the CEO of any Fortune 500 company – well dressed in a nice business suit, clean cut, articulate. The announcement came on a business news program and it was reported as if it were business as usual in America. Not any outcry, any protest, or any editorial about its dangers. The news was hardly a blip on the radar of our culture. It just seems sort of bizarre – at least to me – that porn has gone mainstream in primetime business news. Surely, this is a sign of the times we are living in, just like in the time just prior to the fall of the Roman Empire when orgies and corruption and every form of sin abounded in its day to day culture.
The thing that seemed completely out of place was that while this guy Bell is being interviewed, the female news host was showing clips of women being provocative and sensual as they looked into the camera. It was not something you usually see while a CEO is being interviewed on a business news show. Then the gal from Fox doing the interview held up Penthouses first 3D BluRay movie and you could hardly see anything because the case had duct tape covering all the nude parts.
Is it just me or does porn as mainstream business news seem a bit sad, if not totally inappropriate. Why in the world would anyone with any moral fabric want to know about something like this. It’s just plain sad. So here we are in the technological revolution …we’re going from 2D porn to 3D porn, 3D porn channels and 3D porn movies. I guess Technology + Porn = More Porn. What’s next? Holographic porn or virtual reality porn?
Just on curiosity alone will be temptation enough for innocence to be stolen away from young teenaged men and women who are curious about sexuality. They have no idea how addictive pornography is and its affect on children, couples, families, and our communities. They will fall prey to this stuff and its addictive nature and their lives will be forever changed and their moral compass forever corrupted lest they, by the grace of God, are able to be pulled from its grips. A little footnote here. Medical research shows that porn stimulates the same triggers in brain that heroin addicts deal with. With this exposure porn is getting and the powerful nature of its lure to men and women alike, how can you who desire to live above mediocrity and the ordinary do anything about it?
It’s true that we might not be able to make much headway by getting the stuff banned (first amendment rights), unless Islam eventually takes over America and Sharia Law is implemented (not too far fetched either given the rapid growth of it in America). We CAN however, determine that we will make a covenant with our eyes and guard our hearts against giving into the temptation to seek after or find any enjoyment or pleasure in such things as pornography.
Here is takeaway for those who want to rise above mediocrity in this area of their lives and live a life of sexual purity.
- If you are married, don’t even think about the idea of looking at another human being who is naked or sexually provocative if they are not your spouse. Even a casual curiosity in pornography will set you up for major failure in your marriage (ask any one of the 30 million or so marriages that have failed because of it getting into their marriage). By setting your moral standard high and rising above the mediocrity of an undisciplined mind and unfaithful heart to your marriage vows, you will reap a great reward in that of a deeper and richer intimacy with your spouse. Honoring your spouse in sexual purity will have a powerful impact on the longevity of your marriage and the quality of relationship you will have in marriage.
- If you are single and hope for a marriage relationship one day, the use of porn of any kind will dilute your moral conscience, erode your ability to love purely, and corrupt your moral and experience a Song of Songs sort of love affair with your spouse. It will desensitize you to the needs of your future spouse and cause you to be discontent in your marital relationship once you get married. By avoiding porn, you protect your heart against destructive habits that will both dishonor and damage your future wife or husband.
- For married and singles alike, be willing to be accountable to someone who you know and trust – even your spouse if you are married – if you have any involvement with or are being tempted with pornography. If you allow yourself to let shame or guilt keep us from being open and honest about either the temptation for or the addiction to sexually explicit materials, you will suffer consequences that could leave you broken and alone in life – and living through a string of unsuccessful relationships. Get help if you need it and save yourself some grief in your future.
OK, I am stepping down from my soap box. Anyone else care to step up on it and talk for a while?