Pornography has been a huge part of the Internet since its inception, but it did not really become a global epidemic until Internet Protocols like file sharing became readily available to the public.
The adult entertainment industry was not as profitable and sophisticated then as it is today, however, it has always been available to anyone brave enough to search for it.
Even back then it was clear that pornography was heading towards a very dark and disturbing direction, but I do not think anyone could have adequately prepared themselves for what is happening today with regards to online pornography.
"Abuse is a form of control, it is not to be confused with sex."
Let me begin by clarifying my stance on the entire subject of online pornography.
I am a firm believer that any sexual interaction between two consenting adults is considered normal sexual behavior regardless of the fetish or fantasy involved in the act itself.
Pictophilia is the term for someone with a fetish for viewing sexual images. It is a very common fetish and part of the reason that the porn industry exists.
Sexy keywords and image popups were and still are being used by online marketers to direct traffic to websites. These tactics annoyed people and caused multiple issues because they slowed down computers and left traceable elements behind.
The problem was somewhat rectified by Google when it developed Panda, a more effective and sophisticated search engine algorithm.
A short time later, social media became trendy and then mobile made its way onto the center stage. Together, they opened a pandora's box for sharing and distributing porn.
In my opinion, the porn that is being spread every day on social platforms is simply too graphic for its own good and leaves little to the imagination. Not to mention that a great deal of it is borderline abusive.
Irresponsible marketers place graphic images in places that they should not and show total disregard for users. While this is nothing new, the tactics they are using are much more aggressive. If this continues it will force Google and other social media sites to stop accepting any and all forms of sexual imagery. This is not fair for the industry leaders who spend billions of dollars making sure their images adhere to specific guidelines.
It this happens, pornography will be sent into the deep dark web where abuse is rampant.
A huge part of sex involves foreplay and we are taking this out of the equation and replacing it with a "here I am, come - take me" attitude. As a result, people are becoming “sexually” blind to porn that is too predictable, widely available and extremely graphic.
As humans, we need to be challenged. When things are handed to us, we start to take them for granted and we begin to seek out more challenging things. I don't want to speculate on what the next challenge will be.
There used to be a line between soft and hard core porn. There is little difference now, and what is more disturbing is that we have been given little choice in the matter.
We are been forced to accept this take it all or nothing attitude and are shamed into speaking against it for fear of being labelled.
Subjecting anyone to highly graphic sexual material for prolonged periods is not healthy by any stretch of the imagination. There is more to life than sex and we need to start to find a realistic balance.
Don’t get me wrong, I want sex to be more open and acceptable, however, I also believe there is a better time and a place for it and social media is definitely not it. There is nothing wrong with posting a sexy picture, however, there is a problem if the image depicts a young girl being straddled by a dog or shows a woman in an obviously abusive situation. Don’t think this happens? Think again. As a member of hundreds of different adult groups, I can tell you that I have seen hundreds of things that shocked me. In fact, I have seen so much porn, I myself have become blind to it.
It is no surprise to me that sexting and phone sex are making a huge comeback because they offer a bit more teasing and stimulation than pornography does. I personally love it because it adds the element of mystery to sex that I often require for my own sexual satisfaction.
Brands like Playboy and Arousr are seeing huge benefits to being a bit more seductive and a lot less revealing in their images. Why would anyone want or need to have something they have already seen?
Last, but certainly not least, no one wants to open up their social media to a huge vagina or penis staring them in the face at work or while they are having coffee.
Sex is the kind of thing that most people like to search and view on their own terms, not see every two minutes of the day.
Furthermore, the sex that is constantly being graciously spread over the internet is not sexy, in fact, most of it is quite graphic. Not everyone finds this sexy. I for one like to keep somethings just for the bedroom such as the moment of ejaculation. There is nothing pretty about it after the fact. However, that is just my opinion. Nonetheless, I still think that we need to put the sexy back into pornographic by teasing a whole lot more.
Madison is a marketing manager for a number of leading adult entertainment brands. When she is not working or writing articles on various sexuality topics, you can find her sexting with clients on her favourite site. Arousr.com.