The “pornification” of our college campuses is disturbing.

University of North Carolina student Timothy Bame expresses his deep concerns about its unhealthy impact on his generation.

…On February 5th over 300 UNC students attended a presentation in Memorial Hall entitled Porn Nation. It was presented by Michael Leahy and his wife Christine. Leahy told his own personal story from his first exposure to porn on his elementary school program through the back of a playing card all the way to his adulthood addiction to Internet porn that eventually cost him everything: his marriage, his children, and his career. Yet his story rings so true to so many individuals, especially men, who constantly use porn and think there will be no consequences. In reality, pornography is attacking our very culture by attacking our greatest asset as humans: the ability to love.

…Now that we’ve established that pornography plays a huge role in our society, the next obvious question is how it affects us. As a culture, the rise of epidemic pornography means that the mainstream media is more and more willing to expose to similar material out in the open. This exposure is not in the shadows like the porn industry pretends it is: such material is on primetime television, in blockbuster films, and within the pages of best-selling books. One only has to see the success of Two and a Half Men and Fifty Shades of Grey to reflect that point.

As a result, we have millions of Americans, especially those in our generation, who have no understanding of what love and sex actually are. Like Michael Leahy, they expect to marry and expect everything to be perfect and their partner to reflect the unattainable standard set by the physical “perfection” of the people who participate in the porn industry…

We can talk all day about how rampant pornography is and how it is dangerous, but until we understand how it affects every one of us, the situation will not get better. Some may say that it is largely harmless for people to exercise their sexual desires in private and that the government should not interfere with it. Regardless, what is true is that the government cannot interfere because it is so widespread and affects so many people. It would be impossible to make legislation to stop pornography.

No, to end pornography in our culture is a task requiring that the outlook of every one of us must change individually and freely. It requires a fundamental change in our culture, particularly in the ways that we see and value women…