Internet porn proliferating

Anyone who argues that the viewing of pornography is not generally addicting needs to look at the issue from a different angle. If it weren't addicting, why would so many unscrupulous people set up Web sites to profit from it?

By some estimates, the number of porn web sites went from about 14 million in 1998 to more than a quarter of a billion five years later, and the number keeps rising. A survey by Ipswitch found that 18 percent of all e-mail spam is intended to lure people to porn sites, while another 16 percent is for gambling, in its many addicting varieties.

If the lure of Internet porn didn't keep capturing victims, the purveyors of this filth would try other means.

People in Utah are talking again about pornography and its influence after alleged child killer Craig Gregerson said that he had an addiction to it. This follows on the heels of many similar admissions by other notorious characters, going back in time through Arthur Gary Bishop all the way to Ted Bundy and beyond. As a story in this newspaper made clear this week, therapists say they virtually never find a sex offender who doesn't view porn.

That doesn't necessarily mean that everyone who looks at porn will act out in dangerous ways, but the risks are simply too great. Therapists at the Family Counseling Center in Murray say they are seeing three to four times as many clients with sexual addictions today than only a few years ago. The fact that this coincides with a rise in Internet porn is certainly more than just coincidence.

Child pornography is especially troubling, but plenty of research indicates that adult pornography also desensitizes natural affections and tends to make people view others as objects, rather than as human beings.

As troubling as the mounting evidence is, little can be done to stop the adult variety, which hides behind constitutional free-speech protections. Child pornography remains illegal and demands the attention of law enforcement. But the best defense is enforcement and education within families.

Parents can start by registering their e-mail addresses on the state's anti-porn registry. This acts like a do-not-call list for solicitors. Go to www.kidsregistry.utah.gov to sign up. They also should make sure computers with Internet access are in high-traffic areas of the home.

That helps protect children. As for adults, spouses should be attuned to warning signs. Others need to govern themselves. Too much is at stake to do otherwise.