“When I began counseling in the mid-1970s, hardcore pornography was difficult to obtain. But in recent decades, new electronic technologies, such as cable television, computers, and iPhones, have transformed it into a product that’s available to anyone—anytime, anywhere, and often cheap or free. It’s become a substantial part of our economy, boasting annual revenues in excess of $13 billion in the United States and $100 billion worldwide”- Wendy Maltz.

Let me bring Wendy Maltz concerns home. In the 80s’ and 90s’ barely could you see pornographic films displayed in public glare. Then, it was mostly referred to as ‘blue film’. Nobody called it the original name: pornography. Young people where careful not to be caught with such film in their possession.

Today, the case is different. Smartphones have become the snare to our young people. Don’t get it twisted; smartphones are useful devices that make life more convenient; especially with regards communications. But when misused, it becomes a monster’s temple.

Explaining this on Quora.com, Rishabh Naresh Goel of Movie Buff, recalls the term “blue film” or “blue movie” refers to a cinematic production that is contrary to the standard moral code. It is probably a spin-off from the “blue laws” that existed in many States of America until about 50 or 60 years ago.

In the late eighteenth century, Rev. Samuel Peters introduced the term as a reference to the “bluenoses” who subscribed to the Puritan standards of the seventeenth century. Rumors claim that he wrote on blue paper or that his writings were found in books with blue covers. Neither rumor has been substantiated.

According to the “blue laws,” most businesses could not operate on Sunday. “Keeping the Sabbath holy” was one of the ten commandments, the basis of most laws in Christian countries.

The blue laws particularly targeted the sale of alcohol, but they also applied to grocery stores and other commercial activities.

However, pharmacies were exempt in most cases because of the emergency need for medication. That’s why, today, many items that would be sold in super markets or dry goods stores are found on the shelves of Rite-Aid, Long’s, Walgreens, etc.

As times and community standards changed, so did the laws. Consequently, most people today have never heard the expression “blue laws” and would not have any idea of why XXX films would be called “blue movies.”

Well, the explosion in porn use has happened so fast that many therapists are overwhelmed, because viewers, mostly men are going ‘mental’!

As a society, we may be unprepared to face the devastating consequences, because it appears we are yet to comprehend the extent of the problems porn can cause, or how deeply its use can harm individuals and their intimate partners.

But, one wonders why a lot of young people would be doing this. The battle is even ahead because mobile technology has made it easy for anyone to consume any type of content he or she desires anytime, anywhere, almost on silos.

In 2015 alone, people consumed 4 billion hours of pornographic content and over 50% did so from their smartphones. The porn industry has never had it this good and this is basically because mobile technology has made it so easy to access porn freely and conveniently. Do you know that it is estimated that one third of the entire Internet traffic is pornography related?

18 Shocking Porn Statistics That Should Get Everybody Worried:

1. HuffPost: Porn sites receive more regular traffic than Netflix, Amazon, & Twitter combined each month.
2. WebRoot: 35% of all internet downloads are porn-related.
3. WebRoot: 34% of internet users have been exposed to unwanted porn via ads, pop-ups, etc.
4. WebRoot: Porn increased marital infidelity by 300%.
5. HuffPost: At least 30% of all data transferred across the internet is porn-related.
6. The most common female role in porn is women in their 20’s portraying teenagers. (Jon Millward.) (In 2013, Millward conducted the largest personal research study on the Porn Industry in the U.S. He interviewed 10,000 porn stars about various aspects of the business.)
7. IWF: Recorded child sexual exploitation (known as “child porn”) is one of the fastest-growing online businesses.
8. 624,000+ child porn traders have been discovered online in the U.S. (Innocent Justice)
9. TopTenReviews: Child porn is a $3 billion industry.
10. NBC News: Porn is a global, estimated $97 billion industry, with about $12 billion of that coming from the U.S.
11. PH Analytics: In 2016 alone, more than 4,599,000,000 hours of porn were watched on the world’s largest porn site.
12. SimilarWeb: Eleven pornography sites are among the world’s top 300 most popular Internet sites. The most popular such site, at number 18, outranks the likes of eBay, MSN, and Netflix.

More Statistics from NCOSE:

13. 64% of young people, ages 13–24, actively seek out pornography weekly or more often.
14. Teenage girls and young women are significantly more likely to actively seek out porn than women 25 years old and above.
15. A study of 14- to 19-year-olds found that females who watched pornographic videos were at a significantly greater likelihood of being victims of sexual harassment or sexual assault.
16. A Swedish study of 18-year-old males found that frequent users of pornography were significantly more likely to have sold and bought sex than other boys of the same age.
17. A 2015 meta-analysis of 22 studies from seven countries found that internationally the consumption of pornography was significantly associated with increases in verbal and physical aggression, among males and females alike.
18. A recent UK survey found that 44% of males aged 11–16 who viewed pornography reported that online pornography gave them ideas about the type of sex they wanted to try.

Writing on this subject, CFA jr. recalled his private study which reveals that at least 10 pornographic websites were among the top 100 websites that Nigerians visited. Are we then turning to a society of porn addicts?

Well, one important thing is that sex education must not be treated like a plague any more. The internet as a powerful innovation tool can be dangerous atimes, especially when the user is not well guided.

According to a 2015 BBC news report, 10% of U.K. 12 and 13 year olds fear they are addicted to porn. 12% of 12-13 year olds admitted to participating in a sexually explicit video. 

Please, don’t wish it away by saying oh this is not the UK but Nigeria. Historically, Nigerians usually leapfrog many other countries in adopting new technologies and also how we consume content is amazing.

In another survey report commissioned by the centre-left Institute for Public Policy Research think tank and published on the daily mail website, it was discovered that 80% of UK teens say porn is “too easy” to access or stumble upon on the internet.

About 46% of teens said “sexting” is a part of everyday life for teenagers and 70% said porn was seen as normal by their peers at school. Finally, 2/3 of girls and nearly 50% of boys said, growing up would be easier if porn was harder to access.

Presently, most companies’ productivity circle is declining. If you investigate properly, most young people in such companies are glued to their screens (computer), not in search of solutions to their company’s challenges; rather they are searching for the latest pornographic video uploaded online. This is pathetic. As such, the mental state of some people is declining too. May God save us! At the time sex dole is trending, it is as though illicit sex is now normal.

Quite frankly it is a tough call to monitor young people online these days, but early education will go a long way in directing them to the right part. A stitch in time saves nine.