The debate on whether pornography is bad or good has been settled by many studies. For example, a 2014 Cambridge study by Donald Hilton, MD, found that the brains of those addicted to pornography light up like a cocaine addict’s would when exposed to pornography cues as compared to people who aren’t addicted to it. This is just a drop in the bucket of the research that has been done in this domain. The question now is what people or the government or any institution can or should do to relieve the negative psychological effects of porn, and there are many.

Escaping from the luring, leering grasp of the medium has been extraordinarily difficult for a lot of people, especially teenagers. It not only takes up a chunk of people’s times, but also, as a 2008 study by D. H. Angres and K. Bettinardi-Anres shows that it can mimic the effects of dopamine, causing consumers to increasingly look for more hardcore pornography. Overexposure to porn can also decrease people’s libido, or sex drive. Then there is the social argument of how porn can, not in all cases, drive a wedge between partners. Not only that, but people against porn argue that the perception of women and sex is heavily skewed.

With that said, as with any longstanding product that is addictive to people and society, such as alcohol, cigarettes, hard drugs, sugar or junk food, one has to deal with it carefully. The prohibition era of the 1920s and early 1930s exacerbated the problem rather than solve it, as the ban on alcohol led to harder liquor to be sold; people resorted to consuming dangerous levels of alcohol. So, a rushed ban of porn, like the one in effect in India, isn’t the answer. In fact, the ban in India has been ineffective, as people have found workarounds to the law.

Some solutions that have been suggested to reduce the negative effects include changing how people view porn or by removing porn that degrades women and portray unrealistic scenarios to those that encourage healthy sexual habits. Erotica has to advance with society and become more sophisticated while still retaining its eroticism.

What is equally as important is sex education. Sex, although varying in forms, is one thing that is common among all humans and animals for the most part. As is evident historically, it is crucial in building social relationships, influencing the economy and guiding human thought. One can just look at the treatment of women in accordance with a society’s notions of sex.

With this, it is only beneficial to know more about the topic. It’s not only the methods of safe sex that should be taught but also the notions of sex itself and the discourse around it. The end goal is producing a sex-educated, sexually aware population, which can then perhaps influence economic and social problems.