Mumbai: Sixty-seven per cent of students in Mumbai, in the 16-22 age group, are uninhibited in their sexual choices, while 40 per cent are inclined towards violent pornographic movies, reveals a recent survey conducted by the Rescue Research and Training Charitable Trust.
The year-long survey covered 500 students from 30 English medium schools, junior and degree colleges in the city. The primary purpose of survey was to study the effects of 'hard core porn' on the behaviour of students who regularly visit porn websites.
The second finding of the survey is particularly worrying for city psychiatrists. They are apprehensive about the students' addiction to violent pornography which, they fear, may not only disturb the social and academic behaviour of students but may cause relationship problems and mental illness in their adulthood.
According to the survey, 33 per cent boys and 24 per cent girls share nude photos and indulge in sexting after having viewed porn in order to attract the opposite gender and have better relationships.
Thirty-five per cent of students admitted that they were indulging in sexual activity due to frequent viewing of pornography. Despite the ban on child porn and strict laws on the subject, 46 per cent of youth confessed to watching child porn.
Fifty-nine per cent of boys said that porn inspired them to use escort services, with 26 per cent ready to pay for sex (because their girlfriends may not be willing) while one out of eight girls was willing to sell her body for cash.
“The survey revealed that 56 per cent of porn websites depict oral and anal sex; also, 67 per cent of the male students were inspired by watching such videos and are uninhibited in their choice of partners when it comes to these methods of sexual activity.
The survey was conducted based on the questionnaire answered by the students from schools and junior colleges,” said Abhishek Clifford, CEO of the trust.
Dr Vani Kulhalli, clinical psychiatrist, Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital, is not in agreement with the statistical trends of the study, but says, porn addiction can have a ripple effect, harming a teenager's personal, academic and social space.
“The effects of porn addiction start with the time spent in important routine activities such as studies, outdoor activities and personal hobbies being replaced with watching porn, which promotes unhealthy alienation of oneself.
In addition to this, the nature of this addiction can potentially disturb the user's sexuality, making the child vulnerable to unhealthy experimentation and perversion.
Lastly, the addiction is known to lead to higher rates of relationship problems, abuse and signs of mental illness in the children,” said Dr Kulhalli.
Dr Samir Parikh, consultant psychiatrist and director, Fortis Mental Health Programme, Fortis Hospital, said pornography can have an impact on a young individual's mind.
It is important for youth to realise that a lot of what is shown is exaggeration and overplay of what is sexually considered fun or good in a relationship.
The extreme aspects of sexual behaviour that are shown are not usually seen to occur in everyday relationships and in seeking them, young people can often cause a degradation of their relationship as they experience heightened levels of sexual discontent and frustration.
