Porn impact needs to be addressed

 PAPUA New Guinea has taken on the unwelcomed reputation as the most pornography-obsessed nations in the world, according to web search engine Google. 

It is a shocking and mystifying statistic revealed by the internet giant through its trending service.  

Google Trends is a public web facility of Google Inc, based on Google Search that shows how often a particular search-term is entered relative to the total search-volume across the regions of the world.

PNG has a population of less than eight million people and low rates of internet use, but has the greatest percentage of searches for the words “porn” and “pornography” compared to the nation’s total searches.

It is an unwanted rating definitely but if anything it has highlighted an area in our communications and information technology in­dustry that must be addressed forthwith.

Imagine that, with the advent of internet usage and the range of products now accessible and available in this country, people are using this service to satisfy their carnal desires.

Some may say this is the price of development. 

Although this statistic may point to a general fixation with an illicit industry by some users in PNG one should remember that in terms of the consumption, distribution and production of such material there are other countries far more prolific. What the news from Google highlights is that for people in this country, accessing porn over the internet is pretty much the only means they have of getting it. Pornography is illegal in PNG. There are no designated red-light districts for these particular wares to be marketed. The internet makes it cheap, easy to acquire and because there are no restrictions in place yet to dissuade users from acquiring the material the fact that users are taking advantage of this is hardly surprising.

The bigger problem authorities need take action on is the easy access over the net for virtually anyone, young or old, who has the basic technology – a mobile phone.

It is now up to the State through its relevant bodies to lay down the restrictions and enforce them.

The State has, through the National Information and Communication Technology Authority, a cybercrime policy that will hopefully keep porn out of the hands of vulnerable segments of society as well as making its access and distribution difficult.

NICTA chief executive Charles Punaha said the policy had been approved by cabinet and a State-appointed task force was still working on it.

He said pornography was a censorship issue  which required the collaboration of all stakeholders, including government agencies, to tackle. What people must realise is that pornography is just one of the problems PNG society must address. There are others that require just as much attention but perhaps because of a lack of exposure they are not being looked into.

Protecting children from the corruptive influence of pornography is a must. But so is addressing underage drinking, especially with the prevalence of home brew and marijuana consumption among youth all over the country.

An Australian academic, Dr Michael Flood, has weighed in on the debate, saying the moral restrictions and expectations were in fact driving people to watch pornography. 

The idea here is that because PNG is a self-proclaimed Christian country upheld by traditional Melanesian values, is clashing with what western society has to offer.

Flood proffered that while no specific study had been done on the pornography’s impact on internet usage in PNG, “the situation in other parts of the world shows that conservative Christian values may actually be driving desire for pornography”.

One church leader in PNG says a practical solution is what is needed. 

United Church Bishop Rev Vevuri Dabada says controlling and restricting the access to the internet is the only way to go.

He said because the country’s modern history was based Christian principles and values it was everyone’s responsibility, including the State, parents and the church, to address the problem head one.