Chapter 1

Introduction

Background of the Study

Our emotional well-being has been gravely affected by problems related to

pornography exposure. In fact, emotional well-being is the most fragile aspect
of human life that influences the mind to take risks as manipulated by curiosity
in order to experience sexual activities. Most unfortunate, people’s emotional
well-being has been disrupted by exposure to pornography, which changes
humans' beliefs and perpetuity otherwise it may lead people to breakdown
theirselves with psychological issues.. Jamshidi et al. (2016) state that their
immaturity and the ensuing emotional instability may exacerbate
psychological issues like stress and anxiety. As a coping mechanism, they
may turn to pornographic videos to relieve the tension in their emotional
wellbeing. Horvath et al. (2013) cited that a small but increasing body of
research is beginning to identify any possible benefits of using pornography.
Weaver et al. (2011) explain that previous research has attempted to
demonstrate the ways in which pornography viewing influences a number of
behavioral and emotional markers linked to general health. Owens et al.
(2012) conclude that other studies discovered that watching porn had a
variety of psychological effects, but they also concluded that more thorough
research is needed to look into the mediating and regulating mechanisms that
may underlie interactions.

The World Health Organization (2002) proves that positive sexual health is
important; it is defined as "a state of physical, emotional, mental, and social
well-being in relation to sexuality" by the World Health Organization. In this
field of study, there has been a focus on trying to figure out what factors either
support or undermine the population's sexual health. A significant portion of
the social scientific literature now in publication has seen oSEM as a
dangerous force. Forsberg (2007) states that in Swedish society, there has
been much debate over pornography. spanning multiple decades, particularly
in terms of its link between sexuality and gender roles. The social framework
includes laws that emphasise gender equality, which emphasises the
unrestricted sexual rights of both men and women, and mandatory sex
education, which has been in place since 1955. As a result, despite some
differences, opinions about pornography are largely negative.. Forsberg et al.
(2005) The researchers discovered that one of the mediating factors in these
interactions was home. history, character attributes, alcohol consumption, and
current mental and emotional health. Therefore, the cause of the negative
impact on an individual's emotional health is exposure to pornography.

Bernarte et al. (2016) cited that the country's problems with pornography and
sex in the media have grown significantly, and this mostly nation of Catholics.
Philippines pornography seems to be a live sex show. The study also
discovered that men who watch porn have a more controlling relationship.
Thus, there are some reasons to believe that watching pornographic material
reduces a person's commitment to a relationship. Dominggo (2021) noted
multiple forms of internet addiction, a new kind of addiction that includes
information overload, computer addiction, net compulsions, cybersexual
addiction, and cyber-relationship addiction. This study explains the differing
perspectives on internet addiction and the impact it has on an individual's
psychological health.

Bacaling et al. (2020) states that young people's perceptions of sexuality

were related to the growing issue of early pregnancy. Filipino families rarely
talk about delicate topics like sex at home, which negatively affects the
children's mental health. Cruz et al. (2001) as a result, one of the main issues
raised at the conference meeting of all senior high school coordinators of
DepEd Davao del Sur was the rising number of senior high school students
who engaged in early pregnancy, especially in Davao del Sur. De haas et al.
(2017) noted that adolescents are defined as students in senior high school
who are between the ages of 16 and 21. These students are exposed to a
variety of pornographic materials, particularly given the ease with which
information can be found online with just a single click. Furthermore, the
information students learned about sex education from their school and
community is ingrained in their perceptions of relationships and sexual
practices. They emphasized that students have sex out of curiosity, monetary
gain, and bodily necessity.

This study aims to investigate the psychological reaction and desire of a

student when exposure to pornography is introduced to them. With this
research, the school will have reliable data on the students who are exposed
to pornography and how they would react physically, psychologically,
emotionally, and mentally in terms of their response to watching pornography.
It is more likely that those students who are basically exposed to pornography
may have a basis to impose prevention on the erotic desires of a student that
may cause harm and disruption to fellow students. Hence, this research could
help the school decrease the further issue of sexual activities and determine
students who affiliating with pornographic activities.

Statement of the problem

This study aimed to determine the exposure in Pornography in the

students of Assumption Polytechnic College of Southern Mindanao as
influenced by psychological reaction and desire of a person upon watching
pornographic videos, it sought answers to the following questions:

1. What is the effect to your emotional well-being if you feel sudden emotion
while watching pornography?

2. What is your reaction when pornography is introduce or exposed to you?

3. What is your reaction when exposure to pornography pursuits your

emotional well-being?
Review of Related Literature

Presented in this section are readings from related literature,

journals, and articles of different authors relevant to the present research

work. The researchers focused on exposure to pornography and

emotional well-being of students in APCSM. The discussion of the

concepts, ideas, and viewpoints from various authors was taken from

different books, journals, and electronics.

1. Exposure to Pornography

Peter and Valkenburg (2016) emphasize that exposure to pornography has

become commonplace in the age of mass digitalization, the widespread use
of smartphones, and other easily accessible digital media. Raggat et al.
(2022) Moreover, others have argued that pornography exposure is a strong
predictor of earlier age of first sex, sexual aggression, and other sexual
behaviors, while others maintain that the impact on sexual behaviour is
minimal. Actually, subjects' unrestricted exposure to pornography to evaluate
their response as boredom to explicit erotica. While there was some degree of
sustained interest in erotica, the results do not suggest that repeated
exposure produces positive responses like enjoyment. Furthermore, Baxter
(2014) claimed that easy access to online pornography and the potential harm
of consistent exposure raise concerns about children’s health and well-being.
The Internet has increased the significance of the problem of children's
access to pornography. Young people who use email or the Internet run the
risk of unintentionally coming across pornographic content.

Moreover, Sinković et al. (2013) states that potential correlation between

exposure to pornography and and the context of adolescents' and young
adults' sexual and reproductive health makes sexual risk-taking especially
important. Stulhofer et al. (2012) emphasized the effects of pornography
exposure, it is typically assumed that young people are most at risk of
negative outcomes. Since they are still forming their sexual identity,
Adolescents and young adults may be more prone to uncritically interpret
sexually explicit material (SEM) and perceive it as a realistic depiction of
sexual activity, which could make them more prone to sexual experimentation.
Therefore, exposure to pornography causes harm to student’s physical health
due to the breakdown of their emotional well-being caused by exposure to
pornography.

1.1. Psychological reaction

Qadri (2023) explains that primary, chronic disease of the brain that affects
reward, motivation, memory, and related circuitry is addiction. Characteristic
biological, psychological, social, and spiritual manifestations result from
dysfunction in these circuits. The stigma attached to discussing sexuality in
our society makes this factor similar to the emotional ones. On the other hand,
among the self-reported reasons for pornography consumption, other studies
concluded that the main drivers were sexual arousal and sexual
enhancement. Beyond enhancing and arousing sexually, increased use of
pornography is also associated with coping mechanisms and
boredom.Grubbs et al. (2015) states that addiction to pornography is based
on a collaborative assessment of the actions and feelings connected to its
use. The amount of attempts made to access pornographic websites, the
inability to control how pornographic content is used, and the emotional
distress connected to its use are all examples of how this subjective
assessment is expressed. Therefore, Setyawati et al. (2020) exude that a
maladaptive online compulsive behavior, it involves using the internet for
excessive sexual content to raise sexual arousal and losing control over one's
behavior toward sexual content created by humans through various forms of
communication media and public performances. These content often contain
obscenity or sexual exploitation that violates social norms of decency. Hence,
the emotional well-being of the students is gravely affected by their exposure
to pornography, considering its excessive consumption and passive attack to
their emotional well-being.
1.2. Desire

Leonhardt et al. (2020) states that, originally, it was believed that the primary
biological and physiological function of sexual desire involved hormonal
mechanisms like oxytocin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Recent studies
have also revealed that psychological and social elements, such as
unfavorable sexual beliefs, can shape sexual desire. Busby et al. (2019) cited
that considering the complex nature of sexual desire, we defined sexual drive
as a broader interest in having sex and possibly drawing on an underlying
biological drive. Furthermore, Philippe et al. (2017) states that sexual desire is
moderately correlated with sexual passion expression. Moreover, the degree
of someone's interest in sexuality is more important in determining their
sexual desire. Steele et al. (2013) for instance, found that neurophysiological
changes were predicted by high sexual desire rather than hypersexuality,
reactions to images that are sexually explicit. Hence, Droubay et al. (2020)
states that in terms of arousal, the response to arousal, and the frequency of
sexual behaviors that follow, sexual desire seems to be quite important. On
the other hand, it seems that an individual's subjective perception of high-
frequency sexual behavior influences whether or not they find it distressing.

Lastly, Grubbs et at. (2015) cited that continuing with this, it appears likely
that people with greater sexual desire, who might find it harder to control their
level of arousal, Moholy et al. (2015) may perceive what they're watching as
dysregulated and become upset about it, especially if they feel morally
uncomfortable with porn. Lastly, those with a dispositional propensity to
shame could be particularly prone to distress.

2. Emotional Well-Being

Tharani et al. (2017) states that people's everyday experiences have a direct
impact on their emotional well-being. Hence, Ni et al. (2010) cited that finding
appropriate and healthy ways to express one's emotions helps one achieve
optimal emotional health when they are aware of their own stressors and
emotional needs. Therefore, people tend to release their satisfactions with the
help of pornography, consequently Crosby and Twohig (2016) defined the
term refers to the inability to regulate the consumption of pornography, the
unpleasant thoughts or feelings associated with it, and the consequent
detrimental impacts on one's overall well-being or standard of living, Storrie et
al. (2010) and engage in unhealthy coping mechanisms such as overly
worrying, insomnia, loneliness, helplessness, and abandoning things.

Consequently, emotional well-being thoroughly affected by problems related

to exposure to pornography. Leonhardt (2018) states that above and beyond
how frequently pornography appears utilize. This arbitrary component of
observed compulsivity has been defined as people's sense of control over the
amount of porn they watch, regardless of how often they do it. They make use
of pornography. However, Grubbs et al. (2018) it is possible to conceptualize
casual pornography conversely, the frequency of use regardless of
sentiments of power.

2.1 Satisfaction

Milas (2019) stated that sexual satisfaction has been theorized to be impacted
by pornography for decades. Koletić (2017) claimed that there are just two
prospective studies that have looked into whether and to what extent sexual
satisfaction and pornography use correspond with teenagers. Hence,
numerous health indicators bolster the significance of comprehending
behaviorally modifiable elements that could raise or lower an individual's level
of sexual satisfaction. Montesi et al. (2013) states an example that there is
also a correlation between lower sexual satisfaction and increased stress. For
instance, American couples polled revealed that there was a correlation
between lower levels of sexual satisfaction and increased levels of tenseness,
anxiety, worry, and discomfort. Studies on the well-being and sexual
satisfaction of teenagers in particular are less common, but comparable
findings have been made.

Moreover, Wright (2017) states that various social psychological and

communicative procedures have been applied in an effort to forecast how
viewing porn could affect a person's level of sexual satisfaction. Hence, Doran
et al. (2014) articulated that researchers have put forth varying suggestions
regarding pornographic users will, in contrast to pornographic portrayals,
discover the performance, zeal, and accessibility, physical attributes, spirit of
adventure, and reactivity inadequate knowledge of their prospective or real
sexual partners in order to exhibit more perform that is derived from
pornographic knowledge.

Particularly, satisfaction also pursuit emotional well-being greately affected by

exposure to pornography where people consumed more time in watching
pornography. Griffiths et al. (2012) proves that problematic or compulsive use
of online pornography is the inability to restrain a strong impulse, even when it
is not appropriate moments, and difficulties ceasing or reducing this conduct.

2.2 Control

Daspe (2018) stated that compulsive pornography use, sometimes known as

"Internet sex addiction," is not limited to high frequency use; it can also
involve a pattern of uncontrollably strong sexual fantasies, urges, or
behaviors. Blais-Lecour et al. (2016) said that current empirical data indicates
that a major problem with perceived control over the use of pornography is in
light of this behavior's effects on relationships and psychology. It is gravely
affected by emotional well-being which influenced by exposure to
pornography that made it more uncontrollable. Harper et al. (2016) states that
in light of this behavior's effects on relationships and psychology despite the
lack of a well-validated model for excessive pornography consumption,
compulsive Internet pornography use is linked to unfavorable sexual and
psychological effects. In addition, Grubbs et al. (2015) found that
psychological distress is correlated with perceived addiction more so than
time spent watching porn on the Internet.

Moreover,Daspe et al. (2018) states that frequency of use and the sense of
control over the use of pornography are two distinct but connected constructs,
is essential to gain a deeper comprehension of the elements impacting the
magnitude of their correlation. The current study focuses on sexual
satisfaction and relationships, two important relational context elements that
may increase or decrease the relationship between frequency of use and
subjective attitude of control regarding the consumption of porn. In light of
this, Hardy et al. (2013) discovered that using self-control can stop the use of
pornography. Consequently, it can be said that the use of pornography is
linked to both emotion regulation and thought control, as self-regulation
encompasses both thought adjustment and emotion regulation.

2.3 Curiosity

Barker (2014) noted specific types of intrigue and curiosity, such as those
regarding identity, orientation, desire, and sexual practices; about looking and
listening; about the dirty and forbidden, others deal more generally with
relieving stress, exploring feelings and orientations, or seeking sensation or
satisfaction. For instance, Mulholland’s (2013) research demonstrates the
sophisticated ways in which young people navigate pornography, showcasing
their capacity to parody it while viewing it for a variety of reasons, including
gratification of their sexual urges. It is the effect of curiosity towards
pornography, people often find the sexual pleasure as it urges to drived by
emotional well-being, considering the curiosity of people. Hence, Spišák and
Paasonen (2017) implies that opinions among young people regarding
pornography are more varied than is generally believed in public discourse
and that the issue of pornography may not be the most important sexual
concern for young people. Therefore, emotional well-being is the primary
reason to the exposure of pornography in a manner of curiosity in
psychological aspect.
Moreover, Pickhardt (2022) states that young adolescent is exposed to
content on the internet that their parents find objectionable or prohibited,
like pornography, they must first examine their own feelings. They need
to emotionally calm down enough to discuss the experience in a
reasonable and productive manner if they are inclined to act shocked,
horrified, disgusted, or furious. Due to the risk of, Brown et al. (2017) a
sexual script that is shaped by the events portrayed in pornographic
material, which differ from real-life sexual encounters, may be formed by
pornography consumers, particularly young people, in order to prevent
the act of transcending curiosity to experience the feeling. Therefore,
Esplin (2020) claimed that it is crucial to remember that pornography
users' happiness and satisfaction were only affected in a sexual setting;
their general happiness or satisfaction in life was unaffected by
pornography use. Lastly, Maddock et al. (2019) says individual
differences in the consumer appear to moderate the relationship between
pornography and positive or negative outcomes, hence curiosity often
regulate the emotional well-being affected by pornography.

Theoretical Framework