Ripon College Days

Issue date: 2/21/07 Section: Features

"[Porn and sex addictions] make up a relatively small amount of what gets focused on in here and what gets brought up, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist," says Viertel. "People might be talking about it among themselves."

Even if people are or are not willing to talk about their addiction, it is clear they are not alone.

Leahy's website describes the speaker as the spokesperson for over 20 million sexually-addicted Americans and their families.

Porn, in Leahy's case, had horrendous effects on his personal life. The addiction cost him a 15-year marriage to his wife with whom he had two boys.

However, it is unclear if there is a distinct link between the increased influence of sex in today's society and the number of people with addictions, because statistics are contingent on reported cases.

"It could simply mean that people are more open about bringing it up and taking it to a therapist, and therapists are more open about reporting it," he says. "You don't really know if the numbers are changing or not."

Nonetheless, Leahy's painful story is enough to examine the possible damaging effects of porn on a relationship.

"I think sometimes it changes the perception of what a real relationship is," says Viertel. "More often than not, it is a female student talking about difficulties in a relationship with a male student who they think spends too much time looking at porn and has different expectations on what their relationship should be like."

These unrealistic expectations created by pornography's false reality often breed insecurity within the non-addicted member of the relationship.

"[Women] feel, as far as the comparison goes, they're not like the people on the screen, so they're going to be a disappointment to their partners," says Viertel. "It keeps them from participating in the relationship normally."

Those who are susceptible to porn addictions often have a difficult time separating fantasy from reality.

"I'm more sympathetic with the people who say males and females are beginning to relate to one another in terms of the characters out there in soft porn and movie porn," says Petersik. "You can deny it on the surface, saying [the media] doesn't influence you, but the more you surround yourself with it, the more it is bound to impact you."

Senior Tim Nikolai says he feels porn can be harmful to relationships because it makes sex too easy and eliminates the wooing of one's partner.

"Porn creates a false reality that eliminates the need for genuine relationships," says Nikolai.

However, despite known dangers of sexaddictions there is still a continuing debate on its lasting societal effects.

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