Happy Almost Independence Day, Y’all…
Let’s see what’s up in the media for this first week in July:
1) Are we surprised? We certainly shouldn’t be. It would appear that according to the findings of another study on casual sex, taking the act lightly is affecting many college students’ level of mental health: “The Journal of Sex Research found higher levels of general anxiety, social anxiety and depression among college students who recently engaged in casual sex.” Personally, I still find “casual sex” to be one of the greatest oxymorons of our time. But maybe that’s just me. (US News & World Report)
2) We definitely ain’t gonna knock a campaign to get people off of porn. So make sure to check out Join1MillionMen.org and read up on “an iPhone app with related scripture, tips, and tools. Videos about how to “destroy your porn stashes.” Testimonials from men who’ve found themselves in the clutches of Satan’s ubiquitous tools. And some pretty jarring claims…” (Daily Beast)
3) OK technically, child pornography IS sexual abuse; however, it does seem even more disturbing that acts of sex abuse, even outside of the industry, are being streamed online: “Pedophiles are increasingly targeting poor families abroad, exchanging access to live video images of children in exchange for payment, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) said.” They say that Skype is one of the main mediums. Stay aware of what your kids are doing online, please. (Raw Story)
4) Speaking of watching your children…I just read today that a 15-year-old is being charged with child *felony* porn. Why? Because she took a picture of her “friend” and a guy engaging in oral sex, then when they fell out with one another, she started showing it to people. Another reason to tell your children not to doing any sexting of any kind. That girl probably thought what she did was no big deal. The fact that it’s a felony charge also reminds us that kids having sex, of any form, *is a big deal*. (New York Daily News)
5) And finally, Huffington Post featured an article last week on an episode of Marriage Boot Camp (WE TV) that I happened to check out myself. One of the couples has been dealing with porn and in response, one of the counselors said this: “If you’re snacking all day long and you come home and you’re not that hungry, you’re not going to have the appetite that’s required to do the hard work of marriage,” Elizabeth said. “From our perspective…we have zero tolerance for outside snacking.” However, what I do wonder is if they will delve deeper into the couple’s other issues. I have found in my own life coaching sessions that oftentimes men use porn as an “escape” from their marital problems and women sometimes use it as a “coping mechanism” for their sexual displeasure; that porn so often really is a symptom and not the root of the issue. That folks are “snacking” because within the marriage, they are *starving* What are your thoughts on that?