10 things i learned from joey and chandler about porn [#ICSEX]

Written by Dan King

Christ-follower. husband. father. author of the unlikely missionary: from pew-warmer to poverty-fighter. co-author of activist faith: from him and for him. director of family ministry at st. edward's episcopal church. president of fistbump media, llc.

July 15, 2010

It’s ‘porn week‘ with @theideacamp. This means that several of us are talking about an issue that is often very uncomfortable for the church to discuss. When we do talk about it, all we usually have to say is, “porn bad” or, “porn is the devil”. And that doesn’t paint a clear picture of what the problem of porn really is or the damage that it can cause.

I believe that much of what we see on TV reflects life. So, I thought it would be cool to check out what our friends from Hollywood have to say about this issue. These clips are from a Friends episode, The One with the Free Porn, where Joey and Chandler experience the effects of an overdose on porn.

Note: Because embedding has been disabled for this video, when you click play you’ll be prompted to go to YouTube to watch. Because I cannot control things like ‘related videos’ there, I wanted to warn you of the potential of questionable content appearing on the page. I just want to make sure that I’m not causing a brother to stumble…

Here are a few lessons about porn that I see in this clip. Let me know if you have more…

  1. It doesn’t take long to get excited when unexpected sexual images suddenly appear.
  2. Exposure may cause you to ponder additional ways of accessing more.
  3. The thought of getting rid of it may seem ridiculous to those engrossed in it.
  4. Those addicted to it will try to protect its presence.
  5. Porn can subconsciously affect the thinking of those who are casually exposed to it.
  6. Many will lie about their attraction to porn.
  7. Over-exposure can lead to sexual fatigue.
  8. Joey has an unhealthy obsession with Toblerone bars.
  9. Porn blurs the line with reality in the brain and creates unrealistic expectations.
  10. It may take an extreme reality check to make one realize that they need to do something about their addiction.

Do you think that Hollywood’s interpretation of the porn issue is accurate? What observations do you have that I may have missed? Please feel free to add to my list in the comments below…

2 Comments

  1. cherylsmith

    First, GREAT title! It provides a non-threatening, fun entryway to a seriously challenging (for the church and Christ followers, not society at large) topic. One worthy of discussion.

    I think each of your observations are accurate. Very perceptive.

    I'm glad you included number 8. I was wondering what was up with the Toblerone bar…

    Great approach Dan!

    Reply
  2. @bibledude

    II thought that this would be a cool way to look at a very serious issue. I appreciate how something so mainstream really uncovers some important realities related to porn addiction. However, like someone said over at this post with The Idea Camp… they (Hollywood) fails to recognize the seriousness and very real damage that this issue carries.

    Regardless, I appreciate the feedback on this post, and I pray that it helps someone/anyone realize something about their addiction… and make a change.

    Reply

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10 things i learned from joey and chandler about porn [#ICSEX]

by Dan King time to read: 2 min
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